The Sandman
by The Tin Dogs Bollocks
Summary: The Doctor and Donna find themselves unable to tell nightmare from reality after following a cryptic message picked up in the TARDIS; 'Reality is bending. Save our sanity. Save us from the Sandman'. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay, the idea for this came from the song, you know _'Mr Sandman, give me a dream, make him the cutest that I've ever seen'_... (at least I think those are the words, lol). I always found the idea of the Sandman really creepy, so I thought it would make a half decent Doctor Who story lol. Anyway, I'm not going to say much about it because I'd rather let people find out for themselves, but this is a Doctor and Donna story, and set somewhere in the middle of series 4. I hope you enjoy it anyway :D**

* * *

**Prologue**

The Doctor woke up quite suddenly, and was instantly confused. Firstly, he couldn't actually recall falling asleep and secondly, he was quite certain he was wearing toe-socks. He frowned, wiggling his toes and testing out this strange sensation of these extra pieces of wool on his socks. After that strange episode passed, he glanced around to see if he could settle his mind any. Nope, still confused. More so, in fact.

He was in a bedroom. A bedroom that was completely unfamiliar to him but faintly recognisable all at the same time. Just that thought alone was enough to assure him that he wasn't going to escape this bewilderment any time soon. The room was quite large, and decorated in a very feminine way; soft cream colours and white, lacy furnishings. Judging by the light that seeped in between the light beige drapes, the Doctor guessed it was about an hour before midday. Certainly no time to be lying around in bed. Whoever's bed this was.

He swung his feet out and was treated to a closer look at his newly acquired toe-socks. He didn't like them. His toes certainly didn't like them. He peeled the off and tossed them on the bed, and then decided it was high time he set about looking for his clothes taking he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer-shorts. Boxers and toe socks. He wondered, not for the first time, just what it was that he had been up to.

He crossed the soft carpet to a large wooden wardrobe and pulled open the doors. His eyebrows drew together at the sight that greeted him, but he didn't allow himself to be too surprised. If he allowed himself to be as surprised as he wanted to be then he would have started shouting and hooting and attracted goodness knows what. He hadn't yet decided if he was in danger, but the kind of person who's idea of bedclothes were boxers and toe-socks was certainly the kind of person to be avoided. And now, looking at the wardrobe full of all the clothes he had ever worn – past and present incarnations – he felt even more dubious.

As he quickly pulled on his blue pinstripe suit, he wondered where Donna was. He tried to remember the last place they had been before he woke up in that bed, but found it irritatingly hard. His memory only frustrated him further as the harder he thought about Donna, the more vague she became. He was even starting to struggle when he thought about her face. He could barely remember the sound of her voice…

'Okay, enough playing house,' he muttered as he pulled on his jacket. 'Time to see who's playing dolly with me.'

He was angry now, and quite ready to face whatever creature had trapped him in this ridiculous bedroom. He wanted Donna back, and he also wanted to know what they had done to his brain. He wanted to know why he was finding it harder and harder to think of Donna. Donna. Donna… what was her surname? Donna… Jones? No, that wasn't right. Donna Tyler?

The Doctor yanked the door open and stepped out into a narrow landing. He was scowling now, his dark eyes scanning for anyone else who might be lurking amongst the cheerful, cosy décor. He listened, and heard the familiar clang of pots and pans. Kitchen. Best place as any to start. He stormed downstairs, not caring that whoever was down there would be able to hear him coming. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. Actually, he would have preferred them when he had woken up. Since then the confusion had only made him angry. But he had a right to be angry.

He burst through the kitchen door and sucked in a breath to start his rant, but found himself releasing nothing but a rush of air. He blinked at the kitchen, his stomach grumbling at the smell of warm toast. The two children at the breakfast table looked up at him impassively, and then went back to squabbling about who got to use the jam jar first.

'Morning, hon,' the dark haired woman at the kitchen counter smiled at him. 'The kids didn't wake you, did they? I told them to keep it down, but you know what they're like.'

The Doctor stared at her, mouth open. He had no idea who she was. Never seen her before in his life, in fact. Nothing recognisable about her in the slightest. Except that, somehow, she was slightly familiar. And he had the sudden urge to call her Danielle.

'If I were you I'd get in there before all the thick bits of toast are gone. Don't know what's got into them two recently but they're eating enough to make a pig sick.'

The Doctor just continued to stare around at the three people in the kitchen. The two children continued to squabble. The dark haired woman (_Danielle Smith)_ poured a drop of milk into her coffee and stirred it. When she sensed him still standing at the door, she glanced up and frowned slightly.

'Are you okay, John?' she asked.

The Doctor's mouth opened and closed for a few moments before any words escaped. 'What's going on here?' he asked. 'Who are you?'

The kids stopped squabbling and looked up at him. The woman eyed him for a moment, and then turned to face him. She planted one hand on her hip and narrowed her grey-blue eyes. The silence was thick and nauseating. Then she smiled suspiciously.

'John Smith, you're such a joker.' The woman grinned, turning back to the coffee. 'Now get your breakfast.'

The kids began to giggle. 'You're so silly, daddy,' the little blonde haired girl giggled. She had wide brown eyes and blonde hair that was twisted into two plaits.

'_You're_ silly, Rose.' The little boy snapped, pushing her in the arm.

'Mummy! Jack is being mean!'

'Jack,' the woman said sternly. 'Stop being mean.'

The Doctor found himself moving to the table, but he couldn't actually figure out whether it was him making his feet move. He sat down at the end of the table and watched himself pick up a piece of toast.

'Are you two kids nearly done?' the woman said. 'Your gran is going to be here to pick you up any minute.' As if on cue, there was a car horn. 'Oh, there she is. Now go on, before she gives up and leaves the two of you here.'

The two kids hopped down off their seats and ran out of the kitchen. 'Bye daddy!' the little girl called, before vanishing after the boy.

The Doctor watched after them, speechless, before looking back at the woman. 'Who are you?' he demanded, feeling that pang of anger again. 'Where am I?'

The woman sat down at the table, coffee in her hand. 'Oh stop it, John. You might be able to fool the kids but you can't fool me. What time do you want to go down to the garage to pick up the car?'

The Doctor frowned and shook his head. 'I'm not called John Smith. I'm the Doctor. Look, something has happened here. I was travelling with my friend, D…' He frowned to remember. 'Donna!' he finally managed. 'I was with Donna, in the TARDIS. Then I woke up in that bed upstairs. I don't know who you think I am but I can assure you, I'm not him. I want some answers.'

The woman was looking at him oddly. After a moment she reached out to put her hand on his forehead. 'Are you feeling okay?'

The Doctor stood up, ducking away from under her hand. 'I'm the Doctor,' he insisted. 'I think someone has put us together in this house, trying to make us believe that we're married or something when… I don't know, but I can assure you that I'm most certainly not married. Never liked the idea of having to do a speech. And… toe socks? I'm sorry, but never in a million years – even if I _do_ get married and I _do_ arrange to go and pick up the car at the garage, I most certainly won't be wearing toe socks while I'm doing it.'

The woman stared up at him, looking frightened. 'John, you're scaring me.' She confirmed.

'I'm not called John!' the Doctor cried. 'Stop calling me that!'

She stood up tentatively. 'Have you been dreaming again?' she asked. 'You always were a vivid dreamer, John.'

'Seriously,' the Doctor said in a low voice. 'Stop calling me that. And I haven't been dreaming. There's something seriously wrong here. I need to find… I need…' He frowned when he couldn't remember the name again. He rubbed his temples with his fingers. 'I need to find her!' he insisted.

He felt her soft hands on his wrists. 'John, see? It's just a dream. You can't even remember what it was about anymore. If you were really travelling with some woman you wouldn't be forgetting her name now, would you?'

The Doctor didn't want to open his eyes because he knew if he did, everything would slip away from him. 'I need to get back to the… to the TAR…' That name began to slip from him also. He closed his eyes tighter.

'Relax,' He voice was so soft and soothing. 'I'll make you better. Open your eyes, John.'

Slowly, the Doctor opened his eyes. Her soft grip suddenly tightened. He stared in horror at the creature that now stood before him; its two eyes large, black and segmented like a fly's. A long, thin stinger protruded from the centre of its face.

'_I'll make it better, John_zzzz,' it buzzed, gripping his wrists tighter and tighter. '_You'll feel much betterzzzzz…_'

It snapped forward and the stinger stabbed right through his chest.

* * *

'_Doctor_!' Donna Noble screamed and trashed against her restraints, but it was no good. Even her infamous surround-sound _Dolby_ voice wasn't having any effect. It only bounced harmlessly around the dingy, musty room. The metal chains that held her down to the flat, operation-like table clinked and clanged, but showed no sign of miraculously snapping and releasing her.

There was nothing she could do. Apart from keep shouting. But that wasn't helping.

'_DOCTOR!'_ she screamed again, tears of frustration now escaping from her eyes.

She couldn't even see him anymore. Not underneath that… _thing_. It was right on top of him, veiny wings flitting. It _buzzed_. It was sucking the life out of him. It was _killing_ him, and there was nothing she could do. Apart from shout. But she didn't think she could keep that up for much longer.

It looked like this was it. The end of the line.

What she wouldn't give for an industrial tin of fly killer right now.


	2. SOS

**Chapter One **

**SOS**

_Four Hours Earlier_

'You know I don't complain much…' Donna Noble started, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

The Doctor released an involuntary snort and began to reply, but then deemed it wise to withhold his first reaction from the way she glared at him. 'Of course.' He replied innocently.

'Don't get smart with me, spaceboy.' Donna snapped. She flicked her long auburn hair over her shoulder and pointed at the screen attached to the console. 'I don't complain about where we're _going-_'

The Doctor stifled a smirk and then glanced to see if she had noticed. She had. 'I'm sorry,' he said, lifting his hands in surrender. 'But if you don't complain then I'm the Queen of Sheba.' He paused as he remembered something. 'Wouldn't want to be actually. Last time I saw her she had an awful bout of rickets.'

'_Anyway_,' Donna snarled icily, pointing with more ferocity at the screen. 'What I'm trying to say is that we're floating around in the middle of nowhere. At least it looks like we're floating around in the middle of nowhere. There's none of those weird twirly circle things on your telly. It wants to be turned off because if you've brought us to the darkest, dankest part of the flipping universe-'

'Calm down, Donna,' the Doctor smiled, patting her patronisingly on her shoulder. 'I'm not lost.'

Donna frowned at his hand like it was covered in warts. 'I never said you were.' She pointed out. 'Which probably means that you _are_ lost. Do you Time Lords even _have_ TARDIS theory tests?'

'I failed the theory,' the Doctor replied. 'Which is why I ended up just nicking one.' He didn't give her an opening to have a proper reaction to that. 'And if you could just hold those wild horses of yours for a moment I'll explain.'

Donna crossed her arms over her chest and looked pointedly at him. 'It better be good. Because you promised me somewhere where there were shops.'

The Doctor went floppy with exasperation. 'For crying out loud, Donna! Is that all you think about? Shopping? You've got enough clothes back there to keep the whole moon of Reldine dressed for ten years!'

'You better not be thinking about dishing my stuff out to a bunch of aliens.' Donna warned. 'I'm not a flipping charity service.'

The Doctor sighed and rubbed his head. 'Can I please explain?'

'I'm waiting.' She tapped her foot impatiently.

'Right, thank you.' He paused, and found that he had completely forgotten what he was going to say. In his hesitation, Donna stamped her foot and pointed triumphantly.

'See! I _knew_ you were lost!' she cried. 'Next place we land I'm buying you a _Sat-Nav_.'

'Actually, Donna,' he replied with a disgruntled frown. 'We're following a distress signal. I actually told you what we were doing earlier but you were too busy squalling like a bag of cats in the bathroom.'

Donna blushed a little and scowled furiously. 'You were hanging around outside the bathroom?' she demanded. 'Pervert.'

The Doctor sighed again and massaged his temples with his fingers. 'Donna, please. Just… shut up a minute.'

Donna looked like she had more to say, but didn't say it. She just stood there, sulky and puffed up like she was ready to launch another verbal attack on him any minute. He knew from experience that if he wanted to say his piece he had to get it out quickly.

'Right, now then. Just after we left Earth the TARDIS picked up a distress signal. Would have missed it if I hadn't been hanging around near the screen. All quiet and scratchy it was, but the source must be pretty strong. There was too much interference from surrounding planets to get a proper fix on its location, so I've brought us out here, where there are no radio signals for it to get jumbled up with so we can have a proper listen. Is that okay with you?'

Donna continued to look away sulkily. 'Well yes,' she snapped. 'I suppose so.'

'Great, thank you.' He turned to the console and began to turn some dials. 'Nice to know you approve.'

Donna stuck her tongue out at the back of his head.

'Now don't get childish.' He told her, without turning.

Donna sighed heavily and leaned against the side of the console, watching him in boredom. 'But you said we were going to do something relaxing.' She moaned. 'I'm knackered from running away from bloody giant wasps. You said you'd take me to get some new running shoes.'

'Plenty of time for that,' the Doctor replied chirpily, eyes wide as he waited for the signal to come through. A steady crackling sound began to emit from the speakers on the screen. 'You can borrow some of my shoes if you like.'

'Those clown shoes?' Donna snorted. 'Yeah, right.'

'Sshh a minute,' the Doctor hissed, and cocked his head to listen. Donna rolled her eyes and exhaled through her closed lips, causing them to flap noisily. The Doctor looked at her in irritation and she help up her hands and moved away.

'Sor-ry.' She mumbled.

The Doctor returned his full attention to the signal that was steadily leaking through. He turned the dial half a millimetre, and squinted as something began to break through the white noise. The Doctor frowned as, instead of a voice like he had been expecting, a tapping sound began to come through. He closed in on it and turned it up. The tapping filled the TARDIS. It was rattling slightly, like a ballpoint pen being tapped on a table.

'What is that?' he mused.

Donna had joined his side and was listening just as intently, her craving for a new pair of running shoes temporarily forgotten. 'Sounds like… Morse Code.'

'It does,' the Doctor agreed. 'Well done, Donna.'

She shrugged modestly. 'My dad was into all this kind of stuff. Used to sit and listen to it for ages. Really boring it was, but I must have picked some of it up.'

'Come on then,' the Doctor grinned. 'What is it saying?'

'How the heck would I know?' she demanded. 'It's probably in bloody… Martian or something.'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'How many times to I have to tell you, Martians speak French.'

'Well do I know any bloody French?' Donna snarled. She sighed and shook in annoyance. 'Right then. Shut up a minute while I listen.'

The Doctor stood back and pushed his hands in his pockets, grinning at her.

'And stop grinning at me like that,' she shot at him. 'Makes you look like you just burst out of the nuthouse.'

The Doctor's smile dropped and instead he just looked hurt.

'Right,' Donna listened for a few moments. The tapping rattled around the console room, giving the illusion of someone drumming on the walls from the outside. 'Sounds like an SOS,' she concluded. 'But… No, it's not. I haven't heard Morse Code like that before.' She shook her head. 'I told you, it's bloody alien code. How am I meant to know alien code?'

'Actually,' the Doctor told her. 'It is an SOS. Just not the kind you've heard before.'

'Alright then, smarty pants, what does it say?'

The Doctor listened for a moment, his expression growing solemn. Donna watched him and waited. 'Save Our Sanity.' He told her, darkly.

Donna frowned. 'Well I don't think we can help them with that.' She mumbled.

'There's more, hang on.' The Doctor went back to the console and fiddled with the dials again. A different set of tappings sounded. He listened, his expression growing even darker.

'What does it say?' Donna asked.

'It says…' He paused to listen again. 'Save our sanity,' he translated. 'Up is down and down is up. Reality is bending. Save our sanity. Save us from the Sandman.'

Donna stared at him and he looked back at her solemnly. He flicked off the recording and the TARDIS turned deafeningly silent. Even the constant humming seemed quieter.

'But the Sandman isn't real,' Donna scoffed. 'It must be just a joke. Some teenager Martians mucking around with the dad's radio thingy.'

The Doctor lifted his eyebrows. 'Do you really think that?'

Donna winced. 'We're going to it, aren't we?'

The Doctor nodded as he set the coordinates for the source of the message. 'Yup.' He replied.

'I'm not getting those running shoes anytime soon, am I?'

'Nope.'

Donna sighed heavily and held onto the console as the glowing blue column began to rise and fall. 'Bloody typical.' She muttered.

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**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone! I don't normally ask but love some feedback on this particular story because I've never written Donna before. I think I might have made her a bit too stroppy lol. Anyway, I hope everyone who's reading is enjoying it anyway :D**


	3. Tardy TARDIS

**Chapter Two **

**Tardy TARDIS**

Donna watched apprehensively as the Doctor gently pulled a flimsy looking lever, his tongue curled around the corner of his mouth in concentration. She knew that look. She had seen it too many times and she was starting to hate it quite a lot. The look said that they were landing somewhere dark, mysterious and ridiculously dangerous and there was no chance of them doing the sensible thing and high tailing it out of here. Despite her annoyance at being dragged into some horrible sounding situation that would more than likely involve more running, Donna felt that familiar fluttering sensation in her stomach. Even if this did turn out to be some kind of death wish, she couldn't help but be excited.

'Have we landed?' she asked, holding her breath.

On cue, the TARDIS made an echoing _thump_. It was a very final sound, Donna thought. The Doctor turned his head to her, eyes wide and gleaming.

'Oh yes.' He replied.

They both stood there for a moment in silence. The TARDIS hummed patiently. Finally, Donna jerked her head towards the doors. 'Go on then! I'm not going out first.'

'Right,' the Doctor nodded. 'You want to wait and see if I get eaten.'

'Exactly,' Donna nodded, crossing her arms. 'You've said before if anything happens to you then the TARDIS will take me right back home. You get chomped, and I'm outta here.'

'Well that's…' The Doctor paused and searched for the right word. 'Reassuring.' He finished.

Donna nodded to the door again. 'Go on then.' She hissed.

'Alright,' The Doctor replied. 'Keep your shoes on!' With one more pointed look from Donna he headed towards the doors, picking up his coat on the way. Donna followed at a distance, watching with wide eyes. He glanced around to her when he reached the doors, but she just waved a hand to urge him to hurry up. He rolled his eyes, and opened the door.

Donna watched as he poked his head outside. He was silent, which was a first for him. For one horrible moment, she pictured him pulling himself back inside sans one head. 'Well?' she almost shrieked. 'Where are we?'

The Doctor pulled his head back inside (it was still attached) and grinned. 'Oh Donna, you'll _hate_ this.'

Donna scowled. 'That's not the best thing to say to me.'

He opened the door wider. 'Come on then. Grab your coat. You'll need it.'

'It's _cold?_' Donna cried as if the very idea destroyed everything she believed in.

'Yes, and you're letting all the heat out of the TARDIS,' the Doctor frowned. 'Now come on! I'm not standing here all day while you stare at me like I just asked you if you were pregnant. Get a move on, will you?'

With that, he disappeared outside. Donna stood where she was for a moment, gritting her teeth, and then snatched her black coat from where it hung on the rail. Muttering curses that would have made a fishwife blush, she followed him out.

The Doctor stood on the dusty floor, his hands deep in his pockets and looked around at his surroundings. Donna didn't have to see his face to know that he was grinning like a loon. She pulled the door shut behind her and shivered against the cold. It wasn't a bitter cold like being out in the middle of a field in winter, it was more like someone had left the door open in a cabin in the middle of the Antarctic.

'It's bloody freezing.' She muttered, rubbing her hands together and joining his side. 'I would have to be wouldn't it? People don't get themselves in trouble in warm places. That's why we should stick to warm places.'

'Look at this place,' the Doctor beamed. 'It's just fantastic. Look at the structure of the ceiling. The precision of the fused panels… just brilliant.'

Donna looked around, unimpressed. They were in a long, dark and very cold metal corridor. There was nothing brilliant about it at all. In fact, she felt like she was standing on a submarine. An abandoned submarine at that; the floor was inch thick with white dust and peculiar looking cobwebs hung from the ceiling. There was a faint buzzing coming from somewhere that was either the electrics failing or a giant wasp buzzing around in these awful dark corridors. Donna stuck to the idea of the electrics and prohibited herself from thinking about giant wasps. She had had enough of those for one lifetime, thank you very much.

'Well, doesn't look like anyone's home,' she said. 'Better just go.'

The Doctor ignored her. 'Doesn't look like anyone has walked down here for months. Possibly even _years_.'

Donna said nothing. She nudged a tiny ant-hill like pile of dust and grimaced as it collapsed in a little white cloud. She wrapped her coat around her body tighter and exaggerated a shiver. The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned the corridor around them.

'Come on then,' Donna asked. 'How long have we got before alien cannibals run out and eat us?'

'Well for starters, if they were alien then eating us wouldn't make them cannibals.' The Doctor shone the sonic beam across the floor and ceiling. 'And as for any kind of living thing running out to attack us, it would be highly unlikely. Electricity is off, which means life support is down, although artificial gravity seems to be in tact.' He jumped up and down, as if testing it. 'We can fix that for us of course, but for anyone who was left alive…' He shook his head.

Donna glanced around. 'What is this place anyway? A ship?'

'Transporter.' The Doctor replied with a nod. 'Think of it like… a space plane.'

Donna narrowed her eyes. 'That's a rocket. Don't patronise me, matey. I'm not in the mood for it.'

'I can see that,' the Doctor replied, eyeing her warily. 'And yes, I suppose it's just a rocket. A passenger rocket. Like a space plane. A Space-O-Plane. No, that's not very good. Spaeroplane. No, that's worse. Just sounds like a spare aeroplane.' He chuckled. 'Spaeroplane, I actually like that. Play on words.'

'Well whoever sent that message is going to be long dead,' Donna replied, growing weary of his rambling. 'We might as well just go.'

'Don't you want to know what happened?' the Doctor frowned. 'Why they sent the message in the first place?'

'That impending doom message? Not bloomin' likely. I say we go.'

'Well I say we have a little nosy around,' the Doctor said. 'And seeing as I'm the designated driver, you'll just have to do as your told.'

'You're heading the right way for a kick up the jacksy.'

'Oh come on, you love this really. Don't pretend you don't.'

Donna sighed and blew her hair off her face. 'Fine. But when we get attacked by zombies don't say I didn't tell you it was a flipping stupid idea. Now come on before I change my mind.'

The Doctor grinned. 'That's my Donna. You can't fool me with your scowls and moaning.'

She shot him a scowl that could have made an alligator sweat.

'Okay,' he said in a small voice. 'Let's go.' He led her up the corridor and she stomped after him.

A black shape silently scuttled around the top of the TARDIS and sat on the top, watching the two of them head off down the corridor. It flicked its wings, and buzzed quietly.


	4. Hiding In The Light

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone :D Glad you're enjoying this! If you hadn't already realised this is set right after 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' lol. Just slip that in there xD**

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**Chapter Three **

**Hiding In The Light**

The Doctor knew Donna was enjoying herself, no matter how much she scowled and moaned. He could tell because she hadn't dragged him back to the TARDIS yet and he knew from experience that if she _really_ hated it she would have done it by now. But she continued to follow him closely, moaning about the cold and how the dust was making her nose tickle. She also spent a long while telling him that this amount of dust is enough to give anyone asthma, and if she ends up with a boxful of inhalers she would definitely sue him. When he pointed out he had no money, she simply snorted and humphed.

The ship should have been bustling with life. They had landed on the service floor but there still should have been waiters and stewards wandering around. In fact, due to the strict security laws on transporters these days they should have been caught, handcuffed and apprehended until they had reached their destination. Anyone without a valid travel ticket was instantly regarded as a terrorist or hijacker and treated with the utmost caution, and sometimes the utmost prejudice. He decided to keep that spot of information to himself for now, just in case they did run into someone.

'Here we are!' the Doctor announced as he stopped at a closed steel door. He shone the light from the sonic screwdriver over it and turned to Donna. 'We'll get in here and get the generator kick started again. Then we'll actually be able to see where we're going.'

'And get the heating on too.' Donna shivered. 'I've got hot blood, me. Can't stand the cold. Feel my hands!' Before the Doctor could move she clamped her icy fingers on his cheeks.

'Oi!' the Doctor cried, pushing her away. 'Blimey! It's a wonder you haven't shattered with hands like that.'

'I told you,' Donna replied. 'Now hurry up and get some heat in here before the icicles form.'

The Doctor didn't have to use the sonic screwdriver to open the door as it was already unlocked. He moved inside, peering around at the dark interior. Donna followed suit, her head popping in below his. They both silently assessed the room before the Doctor pushed the door open.

'Shouldn't take a jiffy,' he told her. 'These kind of generators go down automatically if they haven't been checked up on in about a week. Conserve energy or something. Personally I think it's a ridiculous idea. What if something happens to the bloke in charge of the generator and no one else knows what to do? Wouldn't be surprised if that's what actually happened. Well, I would think that if we hadn't got that message.' He pulled open a high cage door and stepped through. The generator looked like an oversize car engine, just with rubber pipes stretching up and disappearing into the ceiling. He moved to the control panel and instantly started flicking switches and buttons.

'So do you think there's anyone here?' Donna asked, rubbing her hands together. 'Someone who mind have found a safe spot or something?'

'There's cryogenic chambers somewhere,' the Doctor replied as he worked. 'Maybe someone got inside. It's worth a look.'

'But if the power was down…'

'They work on backup power. Same as the artificial gravity. If there's anyone in there they should be still in suspended animation. Although waking them up to ask them what happened probably won't work, taking they more than likely slept through it. But still, worth a look.'

Donna frowned. 'What kind of muppet links cryogenic chambers and artificial gravity to the back up generator but the life support to the one that's more likely to break down? Yeah, you can walk around alright, but you'll be a bit dead.'

The Doctor smirked. 'It is all a bit backwards.' He agreed. He flicked a switch and something hissed. 'There. Should be up in a minute.' He glanced at the generator as it lurched into life. 'Probably an idea to get out of the cage.'

Donna glanced up as the lights slowly blinked into life. A second later and a warm draft swept around her. 'Oh, that's better.' She breathed. 'Bloomin' wonderful that is.'

'Right then,' the Doctor clapped his hands and pushed the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket. 'That should help us search the ship without running out of oxygen and being hindered by that pesky thing called suffocating. Come on, this generator room is getting a bit stinky. Hate generators me. Especially these ones. Smell that comes off them… yuck.'

Donna nodded and opened her mouth to agree, when her left ear picked up a sound. 'What was that?' she demanded, snapping her head around and peering out into the corridor. It was fully lit now, but even with the light it looked eerie and unsettling.

'What was what?' the Doctor asked, peering out with her.

'That noise.' Donna replied.

'What noise?'

'That noise! That sound! Didn't you hear it?'

'Well I think you can tell by my asking what noise that I probably didn't hear it.' The Doctor replied.

Donna frowned. 'It was a buzz. Like a big… buzzing… thing.' She looked at him with big eyes. 'Like a giant wasp.'

The Doctor chuckled and shook his head. 'It's just your imagination.' He told her. 'That was just the electricity coming back on, that's all.'

'It sounded more like a bug.' Donna stated stubbornly. 'I've told you, I've had enough of giant wasps. I don't like them.'

'Donna, seriously, there's no Vespiforms on here,' the Doctor assured her. 'At least it's highly unlikely.'

'Well then what about really, really big flies?'

The Doctor would have ignored her if it weren't for the way her voice had become very quiet. Donna only became quiet if there was something wrong, and even then it didn't last very long. He glanced to her, to see he looking up at the ceiling. Slowly, he followed her gaze.

The creature had a roughly humanoid shape, only with longer and thinner arms and legs. Its body was plated with a kind of black, organic looking armour with the same shining surface that one would find on a beetle. Its head was quite large, out of proportion with the rest of its body. Two large, segmented fly-like eyes stared right at the two of them, below there was a curled extension that looked unsettlingly like a stinger, and below that a sticky, black mouth. It scuttled on the ceiling; starting and stopping like a fly on a window. The thin, almost transparent wings on its back were veiny and flickered in sync with the buzzing. Its long, clawed fingers and toes scraped on the metal ceiling as it tentatively advanced, large head cocking from side to side as it examined the two of them from its upside down vantage point.

'That's one big fly.' The Doctor commented.

'You're telling me.' Donna said in a strained voice. 'Don't want that landing on your freshly baked apple pie.'

'Doesn't look very friendly.' The Doctor added.

'No, it doesn't. Maybe we should run?'

'I think that's a very good idea, Donna.' He grabbed her hand and told her, '_Go_!'

The creature's buzz got louder and it began to move with frightening speed, easily getting over the strip lights on the ceiling. The Doctor and Donna sprinted along the corridor, searching for any kind of sanctuary from the advancing monster. While Donna was shrieking all kinds of profanities about how much she hated insects, the Doctor noticed a blast door ahead. He moved faster, now practically dragging Donna along behind him. When they reached the open blast door he swung her over the threshold and slammed his hand on the red button by the door. With a hiss, the door dropped immediately. A fraction of a second later and there was a hollow _thump_ on the other side. The Doctor and Donna scrambled to peer through the small dusty window in the middle of the thick door. A black shape fell past the window and landed on the floor.

'Stupid bug,' Donna muttered. 'Bloomin' idiots they are. It's probably forgotten it was chasing us.'

The Doctor didn't look quite so pleased at their escape. 'Donna… I think you were right when you said we shouldn't have come here.'

They watched as the creature got back to its feet. It stood with a hunch, long arms hanging in front of it like an ape. Its wings flickered furiously, but the blast door prevented them hearing the sound of buzzing. Its black mouth opened, revealing rows of sticky black teeth. Diagonal eyelids flipped once over its large eyes before it suddenly whipped out of sight. They only caught a glimpse of it scuttling away on the ceiling.

'What _was_ that?' Donna asked, staring out the window at the now empty corridor.

The Doctor looked at her solemnly. 'The things that nightmares are made of.' He told her. 'That, Donna, is the Sandman.'


	5. Living Nightmares

**Chapter Four **

**Living Nightmares**

'Oh pull the other one.' Donna snorted. 'The Sandman is some nice little old man who helps people fall asleep. He's not a big honking fly. That, Doctor, is Jeff bloomin' Goldblum.'

The reference was lost on the Doctor. 'That isn't its real name,' he explained. 'Just a nickname.' He turned to peer out of the small window, but the corridor was still empty. 'I don't think it has ever been given a proper name.'

'Oh another cryptic nameless alien,' Donna muttered. 'Brilliant. Well it's obviously some kind of fly, and flies vomit on things they're going to eat. I don't want to be vomited on by a giant fly. I've been vomited on before by my mate Karen after she had too many Amaretto's and that was bad enough.'

The Doctor shot her a brief disgusted glance. 'Anyway…' he said, one eyebrow cocked. 'Back on track please. That thing… well, I've never had the displeasure of coming across one before but I've heard a lot about them. They're kind of empaths.'

'Empaths?' Donna echoed. 'You mean like… that thing when blokes whose girlfriends are pregnant reckon they get morning sickness and stuff?'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'No. They feed from feelings. The stronger the feeling, the more they get. Did you see that big whopping stinger on its face?'

'How could I not?' Donna replied.

'The stinger releases a kind of toxin straight into your system. Makes the victim unconscious. It makes it easier to feed because the victim isn't thrashing around in a panic, but one can't exactly feel anything when they're unconscious.'

Donna nodded, catching up. 'It makes you dream.' She nodded. 'That's why they called it the Sandman.'

The Doctor nodded and clicked a finger. 'Spot on. The victim is trapped in a controlled dreamspace. I've heard it can be incredibly disorientating. The vividness of the dreams that the creature injects into you can be almost impossible to tell from reality. The best emotions it can draw from you are confusion, anger, fear and love.'

'Love?' Donna raised an eyebrow. 'That's a bit out of place, isn't it? Well, actually… it leads onto all three of those, doesn't it?'

The Doctor smirked. 'You're not wrong there.' He agreed. 'Anyway, once the victim is immobilised that's pretty much it for them. It feeds continues to feed on them until they die of… well, usually it's starvation. Dehydration. I've heard some creatures keep their victims alive for as long as possible if there aren't any others at hand, giving them water and so on.'

Donna looked a little pale. 'How long for? Roughly.'

'Anywhere from a week to… well… months? Years? Any time really.'

Donna glanced away, now looking a bit sick. 'So you're basically living a nightmare until you die of natural causes. Brilliant.'

'Don't worry though,' the Doctor said, peering for the last time through the window. 'We'll just get back to the TARDIS and get out of here. I think we've stuck around long enough.'

'I felt that way as soon as we landed.' Donna grumbled. 'I hope you're not expecting us to go back that way.'

'Nope,' the Doctor replied. 'Too risky. Plus I want to take a little detour.'

'But you just said-'

'I say a lot of things,' he said quickly. 'Now come on! And keep those ears peeled. It might have found another way around.'

Donna glanced around warily, and then jogged quickly after the Doctor.

* * *

'Here.' The Doctor whispered, stopping at a large sealed door. 'Quick look in here, then we'll just pop off, okay?'

Donna shook her head. 'I don't like it. I want to go.'

'We'll be no time at all!' the Doctor insisted. 'Do you really want to leave here without finding out whether anyone is still alive?'

Donna hesitated, and then sighed. 'No.'

'Good girl. Now keep watch while I try and get this door open.'

Donna turned and looked up and down the corridor. Some of the lights had blown, leaving unsettling dark corners big enough for giant fly people to lurk in. Again she fancied she could hear the buzzing, but she knew it was just her nerves mocking her. 'That's it,' she muttered bitterly as the Doctor worked on the door. 'I'm not leaving that TARDIS without a big whopping tin of bug repellent. Two giant bugs in two trips? Someone hates me.'

'Voila!' the Doctor beamed as the door opened. 'Come on! In you get.'

Donna hurried inside a little faster than she had intended and the Doctor followed, closing the door behind them. They both looked around at the new room and instantly regretted entering without looking first.

'Oh my…' Donna trailed off. For one of the rare occasions in her life, she was speechless. She turned away, hand over her mouth. The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder but didn't avert his gaze.

Against the back wall there was a row of vertical booths. The fronts of them were transparent, timers and locks affixed to metal strips that ran across the middle of them. The Doctor quickly deducted that the transparent panes were plastic because of the discolouration where they had been melted. The melted areas were the same on each booth; no larger than a penny in diameter, and behind each were withered corpses.

'Doctor,' Donna's voice was high and strained. 'We've wandered into it's bloody pantry!'

The Doctor whipped out his glasses and put them on, moving towards the nearest booth. The gender of the body inside was impossible to distinguish. He studied it closely, eyebrows knitted together. 'This is…' He shook his head and moved onto the next. 'This is impossible.'

Donna, now very pale, turned around. 'It's not bloomin' impossible! It's there! They're flippin' dead! I told you we shouldn't have come here but _nooo_, you won't listen to me. Bet you will from now on, that's if we even get away from this flippin' death ship!'

The Doctor peered in at the third booth. 'But these bodies are… they're not just years old, they're _decades_ old. It must have been keeping them alive in the cryogenic chambers and…' He paused. 'Oh no.' His expression darkened. 'Oh I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.'

Donna swallowed hard. 'What? Doctor, what is it?'

He turned, pulling his glasses off and pushing them in his pockets. 'Cryogenic chambers can keep a typical body alive for up to a hundred years, kept in correct conditions. These people got in here because they thought it would be safe. They must have broadcast that SOS signal and then climbed in these booths, thinking it was the safest place. They had no idea.'

Donna put her hand on her chest. 'You mean that they…?'

He nodded morosely. 'I'd put it at about fifty years. Ninety at the most. Then they shut down. They were living their nightmares for all that time.'

'I want to go, Doctor.' Donna said in a small voice.

The Doctor cast one last look at the unfortunates who had suffered in their plastic tombs and nodded morosely. 'Me too.' He moved to the door. 'There's nothing we can do here anyway.' He moved to the door and opened it just enough so he could look out into the corridor. He looked both ways and then turned back to Donna.

'Just stay close to me, okay? If you hear it before I do-'

'Oh I'll tell you, don't worry.'

The Doctor nodded. 'Right. Come on then, let's go.' He pushed the door open but he had barely even turned his head around fully when the black shape dropped from the ceiling.

'_Doctor_!' Donna yelled, grabbing his arm.

The Doctor looked right into the face of the creature, his eyebrows shooting up. He began to move backwards, but it was faster than him. The stinger unfurled and with a furious buzz, it shot forward. The Doctor yelled out as the stinger stabbed into his right shoulder.

'Get the hell off him, Goldblum!' Donna roared, throwing her fist over the Doctor's shoulder. It hit the creature in its left eye. It released a teeth-grindingly high-pitched sound and stumbled backwards. The stinger slipped out of the Doctor's shoulder and he also fell backwards, knocking Donna onto her backside. She recovered quickly though and threw herself at the door, sliding it shut. The creature was just a little too slow. It thumped on the other side, and then everything was silent.

Panting heavily, Donna turned back to the Doctor. He was lying on his back, eyes closed and not moving. She knelt beside him. 'Doctor?' she cried. 'Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor!'

He made no movement. Donna looked at his shoulder. There was no blood, just a peculiar sticky black substance. She cursed and rubbed her face before shaking him again.

'Doctor!' she yelled. 'Wake up! You wake up this minute or I swear I'll shave every single one of those precious hairs off your head!' She shook him again. 'Doctor!'

He wouldn't wake up.


	6. Through The Airshaft

**Chapter Five **

**Through the Airshaft**

Donna's voice reached him before anything else. That wasn't much of a surprise though; she had a voice that could stir worms up from the depths. He struggled to regain consciousness. He felt like he was trudging through quick sand. Eventually though, he managed to force one eye open. His vision was blurred, but he could make out the shape of Donna above him. He fought to bring himself round but felt like it was a losing battle; the dark was just so peaceful. However, a sharp pain on his cheek made him jerk fully awake, along with a startled yelp.

'Oh thank God for that,' Donna breathed. 'I thought you were never going to wake up!'

The Doctor pushed himself up on his forearms, still dazed. 'Did you just slap me?'

'Of course I bloomin' slapped you!' Donna cried angrily. 'Did you think I was just going to sit here and let you have your beauty sleep with that thing buzzing around? Not sodding likely.'

He blinked at her for a moment before sitting up and rubbing his head. He frowned to remember what had happened, and then peered at his shoulder. 'Hardly pierced the skin.' He commented, prodding at it. 'Ruined a perfectly good suit, though.'

'Oh, calamity,' Donna replied sarcastically, getting to her feet. 'End of the flipping world it is. Now come on, I want to get out of here before that thing comes back and turns us into ready meals.'

The Doctor shook his head vigorously to encourage his brain to recover. It worked a little and he got to his feet. 'Yes, quite right. Although I think the corridors are going to be out of the question. I guess it realised that all that buzzing was giving its position away.'

Donna looked around. 'But there's only the one way out.' She pointed out. 'We'll have to go that way.'

The Doctor looked around, trying to avoid looking at the row of dead bodies on the back wall. However, when he saw nothing of use anywhere else he had to look. 'Ah-ha!' he cried, moving towards the booths and looking up above them. 'There's our exit!'

Donna joined his side and looked up. 'What? That tiny hole? I'm never going to be able to fit through that thing.'

'Well it's either this or risking it out there,' the Doctor told her. 'What would you prefer? A bit claustrophobia or a never-ending dream where you're stuck in a sardine can with a ferret?'

Donna frowned at him. 'Y'wot?'

'Never mind,' he replied. 'Just a weird dream that… someone else had once. Now come on, do you want to go first?'

'Not likely. Get in there, space boy.' She shoved him. 'You yell if there's anything hanging around in there, okay?'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'Don't need to worry about that.' He muttered. He put his foot on an outcrop on one of the booths and began to push himself up, but a loud clang from behind them made him lose his footing.

'I changed my mind,' Donna yelped, pushing him aside. 'I'll go first.'

The Doctor glanced around to the door behind them just as there was another _clang_. It shook in the frame. He took Donna's arm and helped push her up towards the airshaft above them.

'Oi!' Donna shot at him, snatching her arm away. 'Stop shoving, will you? I'm going as fast as I can!'

'Well go faster!' the Doctor told her. 'That door doesn't look like it's going to hold for very long.'

The top half of Donna's body was now inside the shaft. 'Asking nicely wouldn't kill you, y'know!' she called to him, her voice muffled. 'That door is bloomin' thick metal, it's not going too… _Argh!_'

Her body suddenly whipped out of sight. The Doctor scrambled up and looked in the shaft, just to see her kicking legs disappearing into the black tunnel. '_Donna_!' he yelled. He turned and looked over his shoulder at the sound of another _clang_, and then climbed into the shaft.

He crawled about five yards before the shaft suddenly began to slope downwards. His arms slipped out from under him and he found himself tumbling head first through the shaft, yelling the whole way. When he tried to stop himself sliding he only succeeded in receiving friction burns on his hands. He managed to turn his face up and saw the opening of the shaft flying towards him at terrifying speed.

'Donna watch _ooouuuuuut_!' he yelled as he shot out of the end of the shaft and landed hard on his back.

It should have hurt. He should have at least been a bit _winded_, but instead he found himself feeling quite light. He lay there on the new, soft surface and stared up at the dark shaft above him. He blinked at it, and then sat bolt upright.

Then he frowned deeply.

'Morning daddy. You had a bad dream?'

The Doctor stared at the little blonde haired girl that stood at the foot of the bed. He glanced around in bewilderment and realised he was in a bedroom. With a window that had a view of a suburban street. He looked up again to see the shaft was completely gone.

'_What_?' he cried.

'What are you bloomin' _whatting_ about?' Donna snarled. 'That was the most horrible thing that's ever happened to me in my whole bloomin' life.'

The Doctor blinked and the bedroom was gone. The little girl was gone. In her place stood Donna, looking angry and quite dirty. Grey dust marked her clothes and her hair was tangled and dishevelled.

'What… Where did…'

There was a thump and the sound of scraping above them. Donna looked up. 'Oh Christ.' She muttered.

The Doctor allowed himself another moment of confusion before pulling himself to his feet. 'This way.' He said, grabbing Donna's hand and pulling her through a half open steel door. 'And keep moving. Don't stop for anything.'

'I wasn't planning on it!' Donna shot at him, and followed closely.

Behind them they could hear the creature buzzing in the shaft, getting closer and closer. The Doctor felt disorientated and a little nauseous. The corridor around him just seemed to be flashing by, like he wasn't really running through it but it was moving past him. He pressed on anyway. He had to keep Donna safe. They had to get back to the TARDIS. They had to get away…

'_Doctor_!' Donna yelled, but her voice seemed faraway and distant.

The walls of the corridor began to turn and brilliant white. The Doctor whirled around, but Donna was gone. He looked down at his hand, which he had been quite sure was still holding hers but now it was empty. He looked around in confusion.

'Donna!' he yelled. 'Donna, where are you?'

No response. He looked at his shoulder and pulled at the part of his suit that had been caked with the sticky black substance. No sticky black substance. No hole in his suit. It was fine. In fact, at some point when he had either been falling through the airshaft or running along the dizzying corridor he had found the time to change into his tux.

'Care to dance, sir?' a soft female voice enquired.

He looked up to see a young attractive woman holding a gloved hand out to him. She smiled sweetly and the golden lights from the chandelier above them reflected in her green eyes. Like a radio suddenly being tuned in, the sound of light music and polite chatter filled the Doctor's ears. He looked around to see that the corridor had morphed into a grand ballroom, and was packed to the rafters with beautiful people in stunning clothes. The woman in front of him smiled broader.

'Don't leave a lady waiting, Doctor.' She was grinning.

The Doctor pushed past her. 'Donna?' he yelled. 'Donna!'

He thought he could hear her voice, but it was hard to distinguish over the sounds of the party he had apparently tumbled into. The partygoers turned and smiled at him as he shoved past them. Some of them told him it was nice to see him, others said they were glad he could make it. They didn't seem to care when he roughly shoved them aside and yelled for Donna in their ears.

Finally he saw a red head through the crowd. He barrelled through them and seized her by the shoulder.

'Donna!' he cried. 'I did get some of the toxin in my system! I-'

The words stopped in his throat as he turned Donna around to find himself staring into the withered face of one of the corpses from the cryogenic booths. He let go of her in shock and the body fell back, hitting the floor and exploding into dust. He looked around, hearts thudding in his chest, to see the creature all around him. It's sticky black mouth and large, segmented eyes were on the face of every partygoer. They danced around him, spinning faster. The buzzing grew unbearable. The Doctor clamped his hands over his ears and cried out.

The dancing creatures laughed, and moved in on him.

* * *

Donna shook the Doctor frantically. He had been unconscious for nearly ten minutes and no matter how much she slapped or pinched or yelled he wouldn't wake up. She looked around in frustration but the dead bodies in their cryogenic booths offered her no help. There was a little airshaft above, but there was no way she could lift the Doctor into it.

'Right, calm down Donna,' she told herself. 'Up to you now. Got to get back to the TARDIS without being digested by buzz-boy out there.'

She tried to rid herself of the panic that made her heart thump rapidly, but it was stubborn and gripped her with frenzied strength. She whimpered and shook the Doctor again. No reaction.

Well, she could wait here and see if he woke up on his own, but he might never wake up. Or at least she might find herself starving to death before he decided to rejoin her at the very least. Only one option – the corridor. She turned and looked at the sliding door and shuddered. It was probably waiting out there, and was probably quite annoyed at the fact she had cuffed it in the eye.

Do flies like getting revenge? There was a question for 'The Pope Is Catholic' research companies.

Okay, focus. She got to her feet and moved to the door, sliding it open. She peered out and listened. No buzzing, but that didn't mean it wasn't hanging around. She looked up at the ceiling. Nothing. Okay, make it quick. She turned and grabbed the Doctor by his feet and began to drag him out of the room.

She had only gotten a few metres when it appeared directly above her. She looked up at it and sighed heavily.

'Oh you sneaky bugger.' She muttered, before it dropped down on her.


	7. Downside Up And Outside In

**A/N: There's a bit of recycled material from the prologue, but it was necessary - not lazy writing (honest lol). Anywho, thanks everyone who's reviewing and reading, you're all awesome apples :D**

* * *

**Chapter Six **

**Downside Up And Outside In**

The female was silent. The reason for this rarity was that she was currently unconscious. If she had been awake she would have made her feelings perfectly clear about being dragged through inch thick dust and God only knows what else by a six-foot tall human fly. It dragged both the travellers with ease, the male's left ankle in one right hand and the female's right wrist in its other hand. It buzzed contentedly, pleased at how successful its hunt had been. It had been a long time since it had had to work for a meal and it had enjoyed the challenge, however brief it had turned out to be.

The male was ready to be fed upon. He was already trapped in the dreamspace with those big juicy emotions just ready to be sucked out. It would have felt a lot better if it could put the female down the same way but it had to wait at least two hours for its stinger to fill up with the coma inducing toxin. One of the few of the creatures weaknesses.

The room that the creature had been residing in since its last meal expired three weeks ago was in the depths of the ship. A boiler room previously. Lots of chains and restraints. A little water to keep them alive. Hopefully make them last until someone else stumbled onto the abandoned derelict.

The female groaned as she was pulled down a flight of metal steps, but she didn't wake. It dragged both of them over the threshold of the boiler room and slammed shut the door.

* * *

Being trapped in a dreamspace was bad enough, but being trapped in a dreamspace when you weren't currently dreaming was even worse. It was like Limbo – or at least what the Doctor imagined Limbo would be like if he had ever been there. There was nothing – no floor, no sky, no walls, no air, no colour, no sound. Just nothing. Nothing for miles and miles – literally as far as he could possibly imagine. He just hung there like someone had left him on pause, and waited for something to happen.

The Doctor didn't like waiting. He crossed his arms as he drifted slowly to the right and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe that he had been so easily infected by the creature. Why hadn't he looked up when he was checking the corridor? He had _known_ it could move on the ceiling. Had he been expecting it to be moseying along the corridor in full view? Shockingly bad error on his part. He couldn't even think of a decent excuse to why he hadn't checked properly. He sighed again. The air he exhaled gently propelled his body backwards and he tipped. He allowed himself to float until he was hanging upside down. Although technically he wasn't upside down because there was no up or down.

He would have used this time to think but it was useless. As soon as he was propelled into one of the dreams used to trigger his emotions he wouldn't be able to remember being in the dreamspace. He probably would forget about the creature. It was a losing situation all round, as he could really only do any damage to the creature whilst in the dreams as then he had a direct telepathic link to it but the only time he could think clearly was between the dreams. In his very own Limbo, which was useless because he couldn't do a thing in here.

'Bloomin' typical.' He muttered, but of course because there was no sound the words were silent.

He hoped Donna was okay. If she was thinking straight and not panicking perhaps she would realise that all she had to do was keep him away from the creature until the toxin had run out of his body. That was the only good thing about him being suspended in the dreamspace – it meant the creature had not yet gotten ready to feed on him. The first 'dream' he had had was a reaction from the toxin. Until the creature hooked onto him again he would remain here. And he had been here for a while now. How long would it take for the toxin to flush out of his system? A few hours?

He groaned, but of course it was a silent groan. A few hours of complete and utter mind numbing boredom. The could at least have a magazine rack or something. Perhaps a _Reader's Digest_.

'Brilliant.' He muttered. 'Just absolutely brilliant…'

He trailed off as the words echoed around him. Then he frowned. His eyebrows shot up as he realised what was happening, but his alarmed yell of '_No_!' had barely passed his lips before everything around him flashed red and he felt himself falling.

Two minutes later the Doctor woke up quite suddenly, and was instantly confused. Firstly, he couldn't actually recall falling asleep and secondly, he was quite certain he was wearing toe-socks.

* * *

Donna jerked awake and looked around frantically. She tried to sit up but her wrists and midriff were strapped down. So were her ankles. She lay back down and took in a deep breath. Something shuffled above her head.

'If that's you, Goldblum, you want to bloomin' well untie me!'

There was a buzz from somewhere in the darkness. It made her heart leap sickeningly.

'Ooh I'm going to love squishing you, matey. Get a nice big roll of flypaper for you to wrestle with! Tie me down on a bloomin' table, will you? We'll see about-'

The lights came on suddenly, although two of the strip lights immediately exploded in a spray of sparks. Donna winced and then looked around for the creature. Instead she saw the Doctor lying on a similar flat metal surface to her, hands and feet pinned down with heavy, rusted chains.

'Doctor!' Donna yelled. 'Doctor, wake up! You've got to wake up!'

She heard a buzzing in her left ear. She stopped dead, not wanting to turn to that awful sound that seemed so close but her head was already slowly moving towards it. Her eyes followed reluctantly. A couple of seconds later and she found herself staring into the black, gleaming, sticky face.

'Now that's a face for radio.' She commented, despite the fear that pumped around her system and made her body shake all over. 'Wouldn't hurt to use a spot of _Beverly Hills Formula _too, y'know.'

The creature's lips stretched and formed an eerie grin. She felt herself unwillingly grimacing back at it. A drop of tacky black liquid dripped from its mouth and landed on her arm. Donna's lips curled back in disgust. It felt horribly warm. It launched itself upwards suddenly; rocking the table she was chained to and buzzed across the room.

'Oi!' Donna yelled after it. 'You can come and bloody clean that off!'

It ignored her and landed heavily on top of the Doctor, straddling his chest. The Doctor didn't move or react in anyway. There was an awful wet sound, like someone poking at a jar of jam, and then a very final _whump_.

'Oi!' she yelled again, struggling against her restraints. 'You get off him! You get off him right now you disgusting… bug! Gerroff him!'

It ignored her completely. She felt a pang of dread as it began to move rhythmically, like it was drinking.

'_Doctor_!' Donna screamed and trashed against her restraints, but it was no good. Even her infamous surround-sound _Dolby_ voice wasn't having any effect. It only bounced harmlessly around the dingy, musty room. The metal chains that held her down to the flat, operation-like table clinked and clanged, but showed no sign of miraculously snapping and releasing her.

There was nothing she could do. Apart from keep shouting. But that wasn't helping.

'_DOCTOR!'_ she screamed again, tears of frustration now escaping from her eyes.

She couldn't even see him anymore. Not underneath that… _thing_. It was right on top of him, veiny wings flitting. It _buzzed_. It was sucking the life out of him. It was _killing_ him, and there was nothing she could do. Apart from shout. But she didn't think she could keep that up for much longer.

It looked like this was it. The end of the line.

What she wouldn't give for an industrial tin of fly killer right now.

He was going to die. Slowly, and painfully.

Then she was going to die in the same way.

She wouldn't allow it.

Donna Noble will not go out this way. In a dark, dank basement? _Asleep_? No thank you, Buzz-Boy. Got better things to be doing. Running shoes to be buying.

Injected with a new kind of adrenaline that came paper clipped to that desperation to remain alive, Donna checked the room with fresh eyes. Then she saw exactly what she needed, and grinned a grin that could give the Doctor a run for his money.


	8. One Step Forward Two Steps Back

**Chapter Seven**

**One Step Forward, Two Steps Back**

'More tea, sweetheart?'

'No thanks. I'll think I might just turn into a teabag if I even look at the stuff again.'

'Are you sure? There's plenty.'

'I'm sure. Actually… I know this is going to sound strange but… I'm sure there's somewhere I need to be. Do you know when you get that feeling that you're meant to be doing something else but you can't for the life of you remember what it is? I've got that feeling.'

A brief smile flickered across the woman's face as she poured herself a fresh cup of tea in the small china cup that rested on the crimson blanket beneath them. An undistinguishable gleam flashed in her green eyes. 'It's because you're so used to being busy, dear. When you actually get a moment to put your feet up you can't rest. That's the problem with always being on the move.'

A small crease formed between the Doctor's eyebrows. 'Possibly. But still… it seems like something important.'

The woman smirked, her golden hair falling over the left side of her face. She pushed it away delicately. 'Did you leave the stove on?'

The Doctor chuckled. He turned his face up to the burnt orange sky and closed his eyes. The light breeze crept over his skin. He could hear the silver leaves above him rustling as it moved through them. The grass felt cool and soft between his fingers. 'We'll soon find out when we all get blown sky high.'

A memory suddenly projected itself against the back of his eyelids. Burning. Screaming. Death. Destruction. The electric blue eye of the metal Cyclops. That grinding, shrill voice.

Breath hissed past his lips as his eyes shot open again. His skin suddenly felt cold and clammy. He could feel his chest tightening as his hearts sped up. He looked around the field. It was burning. The trees were ablaze. He could hear the screaming in the distance, getting closer and closer. A single voice. A single, familiar voice—

'_Doctor_!'

'You're sweating.' The woman said. 'What is it?'

The Doctor blinked. The fire vanished. The scream stopped. He swallowed, and then smiled. 'Nothing. Not sure what that was.'

She eyed him for a moment. 'You work too hard.'

'I don't work at all.'

'Not here you don't.'

The Doctor frowned again. 'I'm so sure there's something I need to be doing… someone needs me….'

'Only I need you.' The woman smiled, handing him one of the small white teacups. 'And only you need I.'

The Doctor took the cup, still troubled. Another memory flashed. A ship. A red head. 'Donna…' he murmured.

'Sshh…' the woman smiled. 'Now come on. Don't go ruining our perfectly wonderful picnic by uttering the names of other women. Drink your tea. It's good for you.'

The Doctor looked down into the cup. His frown deepened at the sight of the thick, black substance inside. He looked up again at the woman. Behind her, through the valley, stood the Citadel. The globe surrounding it framed her head like a halo. She smiled.

'Drink your medicine, Doctor.' She told him. 'It'll make you feel all better.'

There was a flash behind her, and suddenly the Citadel was engulfed in flames. Behind it, the Emperor rose. The teacup dropped out of the Doctor's hand, and then everything went white.

* * *

Donna stared at the bolt cutters that hung on a rusty nail mere inches from her bound arm as if she could will them to cut through the chains. Perhaps she could try shouting at them. Usually if she shouted loud enough at something it moved, but if she tried that then buzz-boy would know what she was up to. No, this required stealth. It required patience. It required…

…longer fingers.

'Bugger.' Donna muttered as a muscle pulled in her middle finger. This was stupid. She wasn't getting anywhere. Yes, bolt cutters would be perfect to bust her out of these chains but she had to get them first, which meant finding something to reach them. She sighed heavily and looked around. Buzz-boy was still straddling the Doctor, sucking out the reactions of whatever horrific nightmare he was trapped in. She had to help him.

Donna tried reaching for the bolt cutters again quickly, as if she could take them by surprise. No use. They hung there, teasing her with how close they were. She scowled deeply at them.

Suddenly, the creature buzzed loudly. Donna snapped her head around to see it hop off the Doctor, landing gently on its clawed feet on the dusty floor. It whirled around and looked directly at her, slick black goo dripping from the stinger as it slowly curled up. Donna stared back at it. Was it her turn now? Perhaps it was finding it too hard to scare the Doctor. Maybe it thought a blast of one of Donna's naked-in-the-coffee-shop dreams would hit the spot.

'Don't you even think about it, matey. You can't scare me with your poxy nightmares. I've stared down bigger things than you! Sontarans! Heard of them? Yup, I knocked one on its face quicker than you could find the stinkiest kid in the classroom. And don't think I'm new to giant bugs either! Racnoss! Vespiforms, heard of them? Drowned it, I did! Trust me, pally, if there was a lake around here somewhere…'

The creature just buzzed and grinned, before scampering out of the room. It closed the door behind it, leaving Donna staring after it with a bemused expression. She doubted that she had succeeded in putting it down with her not-so terrifying threats. God knows what it had gone to get. Probably something big and horrible to make the whole situation a million times worse than it already was. If she wanted to get those bolt cutters, she had to get them now.

Before she got onto that task though, she turned her head to see the Doctor. He was still unconscious. Hadn't even moved a muscle. She could only see the side of his face as his head was turned away from her. With a sharp exhale through her nostrils, Donna turned back to the bolt cutters and stretched. She pushed all her weight towards them, lips stretching back over her teeth with the effort. Adrenaline pumped through her as her fingers grazed the smooth, cold metal. Just a little further…

Then she became aware of her centre of balance shifting. Her eyes widened as the table began to topple. She hooted in alarm as the floor rushed up towards her. A second later and she landed with a _crash_, chains clanking and something metallic rolling behind her. Her shoulder hit the hard floor, sending a sharp pain shooting down her arm. She hissed in pain and cursed.

'Brilliant…' she muttered. 'Now you're even further away from the bloody bolt cutters.' She wriggled, but if anything the chains just felt tighter, and they were cutting into her upper thigh. Upon reflection she decided she had probably been better off before. When buzz-boy came back she was just going to look a tad suspicious.

Donna glanced up when she became aware of a light scratching sound above her. The bolt cutters were swinging gently, the handle scraping against the wall. Her tumble had apparently knocked them off the nail – just not enough to make them fall. She stared at them for a moment, and then tried to shimmy forward. With each movement, the bolt cutters shook a little more.

'Come on,' she muttered. 'Come on, stop being such a useless sod and get down here. You've got stuff to be cutting through! Do your job!'

The bolt cutters shook again. Donna laughed aloud with glee as they finally slid off the nail and landed right before her. Grinning triumphantly, she got a hold of them and readied herself to use them.

Just as she was about to cut through the chain, the door slid open. The creature stood there, bottle of cloudy water in one of its thin hands, and stared at her. Donna froze and stared back.

'It's not what it looks like,' she insisted. 'I just had an itch.'

The creature bared its teeth and buzzed furiously, before dropping the water and quickly descending onto her.


	9. Guardian Angel

**Chapter Eight**

**Guardian Angel**

The Doctor screamed in anguish as he fell out of yet another nightmare and returned to his merciless Limbo. It should have been a relief to be away from the strange cloud that fogged his memory, making him oblivious to the illusions around him. It should have been a relief to be out of his nightmares. But it wasn't. He could still feel the heat on his face as he had ran to the burning Citadel.

_It wasn't real_, he told himself, fighting back another heartbroken cry. _They're nothing but illusions. You can give into them. You're feeding it. You've got to stop._

But he couldn't. Everything was just _too_ real. Then being returned to this Limbo with the memory of the last dream just made it worse. It was enough to drive a person insane. But then again that was probably the idea. People with fragile minds tended to be a lot more emotional. As soon as he snapped the thing would be able to feed uninterrupted for who knows how long. Then that would be it.

Curtains close.

The Doctor sucked in a lungful of breath (or at least that's what he imagined himself doing – there was no air in this place) and tried to get a grip of himself. He needed a level head if he ever wanted to get out of here and get back to Donna. She would be doing all she could, he knew. If she was even still alive. In here he just didn't know.

As he was desperately trying to think of a plan he felt himself growing heavy. It was happening again. It had its hooks on him once again. He flailed, trying to grip onto anything to stop his tumble.

'_No!'_ he yelled. '_Not now! Not again!_'

His yells were fruitless and he plummeted, screaming, into yet another nightmare of his own making.

* * *

Donna stirred and quietly muttered something. Groggily she opened one eye. A shooting pain immediately struck through her temples and she hissed at it before clamping her eyes shut once again. She lay there, trying to tame her erratic, drunken thoughts that staggered around inside her mind, refusing to be clicked into an understandable order. Slowly they merged together and with heavy disappointment she remembered her attempt to get the bolt cutters.

Correction; her _failed_ attempt to get the bolt cutters.

Donna opened her eyes and ignored the pain in her head. It took her a couple of moments to realise that she was no longer in the room she had been in. She tried to sit up, but the chains were tighter than ever. She squinted in the darkness for anything familiar, even for Buzz-Boy, but there was nothing. Not even a pile of chains or old, dusty chair. Nothing. Just her and her stupid failure.

Donna lay back and sighed heavily. Fantastic. She had been so close to getting out and she had just managed to get herself in an even worse position. She couldn't even keep her eye on the Doctor anymore. Buzz-Boy could be doing any kind of disgusting fly-related things to him and she couldn't even yell at it to stop. And there wasn't even any convenient bolt cutters lying around. Nothing useful.

'Well done, Donna.' She grumbled at herself. 'I think you've proved that you will most certainly _never_ make it to be the next Bond girl.'

A shuffling sound above her made her frown. She readjusted her eyes so she could see directly above her and noticed a black grate on the ceiling. She squinted at it, and then immediately yelled out in alarm.

'_Sshh_!' the small, dirty face hissed at her.

Donna stared up at the person who looked back down at her through the grate. 'Oh my _God_!' Donna breathed harshly. 'Am I glad to see you!'

There was a scrape of metal and the black grate shifted. A second later and a small, dark shape dropped down from the ceiling and landed lightly beside her. He glanced around, wide dark eyes scanning the empty room.

'Have you been infected?' he whispered, voice slightly hoarse.

'What?' Donna demanded, eyeing up the stranger. He was young; possibly no older than fifteen. His hair was covered in dust and his clothes were at least three sizes too big for him. His skin was chalk white in the darkness. 'What the heck are you talking about? Get these flippin' chains off me before that thing gets back.'

The boy hesitated. 'But have you been-'

'From what I've heard it wouldn't bloomin' matter if I had, cos you would just turn out to be a figment of my imagination and lead me to some bloody horrible place like… to a flippin' Physics exam and make me do it topless!'

The young boy blinked at her. 'You haven't been infected.' He confirmed to himself, and pulled a set of bolt cutters from his back pocket.

'Seems to be a lot of those in this place.' Donna commented as he cut through the chains. 'Not that I'm complaining.'

The boy set the cutters down and pulled off the chains. Donna sat up, her back cracking noisily. Both of them winced at the amount of noise the chains were making.

'Who are you?' Donna asked. 'Have you been here all this…?'

'Not now.' The boy hissed. 'It's coming.'

Donna frowned. 'How do you…?' He ears picked up on a faint buzzing and she nodded. 'Okay, I believe you.'

The boy helped her off the table and pulled it across the floor so it was beneath the open vent. He didn't seem to care much about being quiet anymore. He waved at her frantically. 'Climb up there!'

Donna looked up at the grate and then back at him like he had asked her to run over hot coals. 'You're _kidding_ me.' She breathed.

The boy gritted his teeth. '_Now_! It's coming!'

Sure enough, the buzzing was louder. Donna shook her shoulders, stretched her neck, and then offered her hand to the table. 'After you.'

The boy sighed and scrambled up on the table. With the ease of a monkey he scrambled up into the dark hole and vanished out of sight. Donna suddenly wished that she had gone first. She climbed up onto the table, trying to ignore the buzzing getting louder and the boy telling her to hurry. She thought of the Doctor. She thought of the nice, safe, warm TARDIS. She thought of her nice brand new pair of trainers.

'Right,' she muttered, rubbing her hands together. 'Come on, Noble. You can do it.'

She got hold of the ledge and hauled herself up. Her arms felt like they were burning. She wheezed and puffed as her legs kicked back and forth, naturally searching for any kind of leverage but finding none. The boy pulled on her frantically, but his skinniness did little to help.

'Bloomin' gerroff!'Donna hissed. 'You're nipping me!'

The boy kept pulling on her. Her eyes widened as he grabbed her rear and pulled on her.

'Oi!' she snapped. 'Hands to yourself!'

Finally she managed to scramble into the narrow vent and lay on her side, breathing heavily. The boy scrambled over her and replaced the grate. Immediately he whirled around to get and put his finger over his mouth. Donna shuffled around and the two of them lay on their stomachs and looked back down into the room.

The door opened. The buzzing made both of them subconsciously shiver. The creature passed through the door and stopped. It stared at the empty table, and then without looking anywhere else it looked up at the grate – directly at them. It's lips curled back and it buzzed furiously.

'Go!' the boy yelled, shoving Donna. '_Go!_'

Without having to be told again, Donna began to crawl as fast as she could. Behind her the boy followed. A second later and there was a thump on the bottom of the vent.

'Pack it in!' Donna snarled as she felt the metal lurch beneath her.

'Keep going!' the boy yelled, terror plain in his voice. 'Keep moving!'

'I'm going as fast as I can!' Donna yelled back.

The creature continued to thump on the bottom of the vent, following them along the ceiling. Then, thankfully, the vent began to slope upwards. The two of them scrambled up it, feet sliding on the gentle slope. The thumping grew quieter behind them, and finally stopped.

But then kept going for at least another five minutes. Finally they stopped, mainly because Donna was exhausted. She leaned against the side of the vent, her breath rushing in and out harshly. She looked to the young boy, who seemed to be suffering the consequences of his near death experience by almost having a heart attack. Donna knew how he felt.

'Well…' she heaved. 'Thanks.'

He nodded, but said nothing.

'Who are you then?'

'Oscar.' The boy breathed.

'I'm Donna. Nice to meet you.' She held her hand out, despite the amount of effort it took.

Oscar hesitated, and then shook her hand. 'Yeah.' He mumbled.

They both sat back in silence and allowed each other to catch their breaths.


	10. Those Left Behind

**Chapter Nine**

**Those Left Behind**

Oscar hadn't been keen on the idea of hanging around in the vent any longer. After a few minutes of silent nerve-gathering, he had prodded Donna in her arm and nodded for her to follow him, which she did for the first time in her life without complaint. They travelled for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was no longer than about fifteen minutes. Finally, Oscar turned to look at her; his face ghostly in the darkness.

'It can't get to this part,' he told her. 'The doors are permanently sealed. You'll be safe here.'

Donna frowned. 'But if we managed to get here through the vents…'

'It never tries to get through the vents.' Oscar explained. 'I think it might be claustrophobic or something. I don't know, but it never tries. It knows we're through here but it never follows.'

'We?' Donna raised an eyebrow. 'There're others?'

A sad look washed over Oscar's face but he didn't explain. Instead he reached down to the floor and pulled up a battered metal grate. A second later and he was gone, dropped down into the dark room below. Donna peered over the edge and gulped. Seemed like a high drop, and she was wearing heels. Okay, maybe not huge heels but they were big enough to probably shatter the back of her feet when she landed. She pulled them off and dropped them down, and then followed after them quickly.

'Ooh, I'm too flippin' old for all of this.' Donna muttered as she rubbed the back of her legs. 'But don't you tell anyone I said that.'

Oscar ignored her. He was crouching by a table against the wall. A dim orange glow illuminated his gaunt face as he turned on a little gas lamp, and then he quickly scampered across to the other side of the room to turn on another. Donna looked around and her breath caught in her throat.

The room was no bigger than her kitchen back at home, but seemed even smaller with the amount of boxes piled up against the walls. The place was a mess and had that awful lived-in smell that only teenage boys could manage to produce. She stood there for a long time, staring at the depressing room. She was so shell-shocked that it took her a few moments to realise that Oscar had disappeared.

'Oscar?' she called. 'Where are you?'

'Round here.' His voice called from behind her. 'Just… try and be quiet. She doesn't like loud noises.'

Donna frowned. She? If there was someone else down here then why didn't they come out when they first arrived? She picked up her shoes and pulled them on before following the sound of his voice. She came to an opening in a large pile of boxes and peered in. It reminded her of a kind of fort kids make, using any kind of junk they can get their hands on. Apparently the only things Oscar could get his hands on were boxes and sheets of metal. Inside there was a soft orange glow and the sound of the young boy talking gently. Donna hesitated, and then ducked as she entered.

Oscar glanced around to her and offered her a weary smile. 'She should be okay.' He told her. 'She's sleeping at the minute.'

Donna moved forward, stepping over the piles of fluffy insulation and torn blankets. For a moment her mind refused to register what she was seeing. 'Oh… oh my God…' she finally mumbled, her hand immediately moving to her mouth.

Oscar let out a sigh and brushed the dark hair from the sleeping child's face. 'She comes in and out of it.' He told her. 'Most of the time she's okay. Other times she can't even remember who I am. She's away from that thing though, so it's okay.'

Donna knelt beside the child, hot tears stinging her eyes. 'How did she… What happened?'

Oscar sat back. The girl who was nestled in a pile of ripped and dirty blankets breathed lightly, eyeballs moving back and forth rhythmically beneath her eyelids. She was tiny. Thin and frail. No older than eight. In the middle of her grimy forehead there was a dark, scarred spot. Donna wanted to reach out and take her in her arms – a maternal instinct she supposed – but managed to restrain herself.

'We were in a transport ship.' Oscar explained. 'On our way to the Windring System. Mum and dad had their hearts set on moving there. They always said it would be the perfect place to start a new business. A new life. I didn't want to leave home, I had loads of friends you know? But they said I could go back some weekends to see everyone. Bea couldn't wait. She always loved travelling. To her it was one big adventure.' He reached out and brushed another few strands from the young girl's face. 'We were halfway there when the pilot told us that we had to make a stop. That they found a broken down Transporter. Apparently it's federal law that any craft has to stop to assist another craft that needs help whether they're packed to the rafters with civilians or not. Anyway, they latched on and most of the flight crew went across. A few hours passed and they didn't come back, so the rest of the flight crew went over. They didn't come back either. People started panicking, saying that they should just fly away but no one knew how to fly the Transporter. They tried, but it needed some kind of weird DNA ID thing from the pilot.' He shrugged at Donna. 'It's to prevent hijackers and stuff, but you probably already know that.'

Donna blinked. 'Oh, yeah. Yeah sure.'

Oscar sighed again and rubbed his grubby face. 'So we waited a few hours and when no one else came a group of the passengers headed across. There was no word for hours and then finally one of the men came back, screaming about this monster. Well we were all terrified. Mum and dad made us go down to the cargo hold cos we were the only kids there. We waited, but then there was all this screaming and shouting. It went on for about half an hour and then… there was nothing. Not a sound. We waited again, hoping someone would come down, but no one did. We stayed down there for about two days or something. There was water and food there so we were okay. But then I realised we were going to run out, so we went back up. Bea didn't want to. She was scared. I was too, but I told her it would be okay. A rescue party probably picked everyone up and they were looking for us. But then we back to the top and everyone… Well half of them were dead. The rest were missing. I went into the front to try and send out a signal but it was no good. That's when I heard Bea screaming. I ran out and that thing was there, dragging her off into the broken down Transporter. I…' He hung his head. 'I was so scared I just hid. I let it take her away.'

Donna reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. She was nearly in tears. 'It's okay.'

'It's not.' Oscar snapped. 'I let it take her. When I'd stopped being such a wimp I went out looking and found them all. A few were dead. Mum and dad were dead. I found Bea strapped on this big table, so I got her out. There were some people still awake and they were begging me to help them but I couldn't. I had to save Bea. Then it came back, so I just ran with her. It chased us for ages, but once I was in the vents it just stopped. I found this place and sealed all the entrances so it could come through. Shut off the power in this area so it couldn't open the doors from the other side. I used the vents to gather food and stuff.' He turned and looked at her, eyes wide and wet. 'Were you with a rescue party? Did you come to save us?'

Donna swallowed hard, and then offered him a broken smile. 'Yes. We came to help.' She paused. 'But I don't know if we can anymore. My friend, the Doctor… it got him too. Did you see him?'

Oscar shook his head. 'Just you.'

Donna nodded and sat back. 'Oh. Well… we'll just have to go and get him. You got Bea away from it, didn't you? That means we can get the Doctor away too. All's not lost yet, eh?'

Oscar opened his mouth to reply, but a shrill screaming stopped him. Both of them looked around in alarm. Bea was rigid, eyes clenched shut, an inhuman scream ripping out of her lungs. Donna blinked in surprise, alarmed at such a sound coming out of such a small person. Immediately Oscar threw himself over her, face buried in her shoulder and hugged her tight. He was muttering to her, but his voice was lost in her scream. Donna watched in horror as the young child began to calm, and then fell silent once again. She lay there calmly, only a slightly crease between her eyebrows, just below that dark red scar. Oscar sat up, whispered something else to her, and then turned to Donna with a tear streaked face.

'He won't be able to help us.' He told her in a broken voice. 'No one can.'


	11. Awakening

**A/N: Man, I've got to apologise. I bet everyone who has me on alert are getting really pissed off with the amount of frigging new chapter alerts they get! I'm sorry, but I write real quick and I like to get these chapters up before I lose them or delete them or something (I do stupid stuff like that, seriously). Anyway... sorry lol. Enjoy the ever-updating story though :D**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

**Awakening**

It took a lot to exhaust the Doctor. He never gave up easily. In fact, he made it one of his main priorities in life not to give up – it was the few things had had kept him alive these past few centuries. He prided himself on being relentless. Being as fearless as he could. Facing down anything with dignity and compassion. Full of forgiveness for as long as it was deserved. The Doctor did not crumble. The Doctor did not yield.

But drifting limply in this colourless world, the Doctor had finally succumbed. He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't win. He couldn't even _fight_. This wasn't like the other times where death had been inevitable; when the situation had called for it he had been able to cheat his death by regenerating. This time, however, that ability would be more of a condemnation than a gift. Every time he died beneath that creature, stuck in this horrific nightmare world, he would simply regenerate. All the creature had to do was infect him again and he would be back to square one. Suffering once again. Then he would die and the process would repeat itself. No mercy. No escape.

He had convinced himself that Donna was dead. She was too stubborn to have realised there was nothing she could do. She wouldn't have gone back to the TARDIS. With him to feed from the creature would have no reason to keep her alive. And if that wasn't a bad enough thought, his heart-wrenching guilt of her inevitable demise just came back to haunt him over and over in the form of vivid illusions. Only he wasn't aware of them being illusions. He tried to save her, many times and in many different ways, but each time he failed and was forced to watch her suffer. It was torture.

So the Doctor hung in this awful place. Alone. Heartbroken. The irony that this nightmare world was of his own creation was not lost on him. It was unlikely that another being could imagine scenarios so terrifying, but the Doctor had seen so many horrific things they had burrowed in the back of his mind, spreading like a fungus. In this place they reigned freely. He had no way of controlling them anymore.

The empty void around him began to regain shape, but the Doctor didn't react to it. Why should he? There was nothing he could do. As soon as he dropped into the fresh nightmare he would forget about the reality of what was happening to him. Then he would be thrown back here to dwell on them until the next time. Best not to think about it. It would only drive him insane, if that hadn't already happened. He couldn't quite tell yet. However as he tumbled, he found himself laughing.

Perhaps he had lost it.

Wouldn't be the first time.

* * *

He woke up again and looked around with hooded, tired eyes. What was it this time? A lovely open barbecue with every single one of his companions as the speciality? A nice re-run of the Time War? Perhaps a few hours of merciless torture from one of his closest friends? Whatever it was, whatever awful torment his mind was ready to inflict upon him; he just didn't care anymore. Let it happen. Might be quick.

Then realisation struck him like a sack of pennies. He sat up, blinking. 'Now just hang on a minute,' he murmured. 'This isn't right. I shouldn't be able to remember…'

But he did. He was in a dream, yet he knew it was a dream. Oh, now this was a revelation. He felt a rush in his system that floored his previous reigning despair. Perhaps all was not lost. Could he be awake? Did Donna do it?

He looked around the dark, cold room. He had to squint to make anything out. He was sitting on a metal table, broken chains lying all around him. He pushed them off and hopped down onto the dusty floor. His legs felt weak and he stumbled, but managed to catch his balance on an overturned table not too far away. He rested there a moment, trying to will his legs into action. Finally they came back to life, although his left leg still felt a little tingly. He looked around, blinking rapidly to force his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Eventually they did and that's when he noticed the open door.

This was all wrong. If Donna had saved him then she would be here, no doubt screaming at him to get back in the TARDIS and take her away from this place. But she wasn't here. The creature wasn't here. The door was open. The Doctor couldn't help but wonder what lay in store for him on the other side of that door. Could it be that this was just another illusion? His mind trying to convince him that he had escapes his torture only to find himself still tangled up in it? He wasn't sure if he could handle such a disappointment.

So what then? Wait here until the creature came back and ask it if he was dreaming? Or head outside to potential safety. Or walk right into a horrific trap.

The Doctor pushed himself from the table and stumbled towards the open door. He hung on the doorframe and peered out into the corridor. Some of the lights were still on and were buzzing quietly. He grimaced. The buzzing sounded just like the creature, like it was right beside him. He had to look around to check, but he was alone.

'Donna?' he called tentatively. He didn't want to shout too loud – he could attract all sorts of trouble if he stood here shouting his head off. Well, only one kind of trouble, but that had proved to be bad enough.

There was no reply, so he picked a direction and limped along the corridor. That buzzing sound seemed to follow him. He glanced up. The lights were flickering like strobe lights, hurting his sensitive eyes. He put his hand over his eyebrows, trying to block the dizzying light. It didn't help much, but he wasn't about to let a little queasiness stop him now. So he hopped on, wincing at the irritating tingling in his leg.

He stopped suddenly when he heard something ahead. Footsteps. Voices. The Doctor froze. It was Donna. His hearts pounded.

'Donna!' he called automatically. 'Donna, I'm here!'

There was a muffled shriek. That wasn't Donna. It was younger. Perhaps a child. Then a loud, mumbling voice. Then Donna's unmistakable, breathy 'I-can't-believe-this-is-happening' tone. The Doctor stumbled forward.

'Donna!' he cried. He never thought he would be as happy as he felt right now at hearing her voice. He needed to see her, give her a massive, rib cracking hug. Okay, he was too weak for any hugs like that, but he had to have some contact after the time he had just had. A voice niggled at him to stop, to think rationally, that this was probably just another illusion, but he refused to listen. He stumbled forward through the flickering lights, which had started properly flashing rather than flickering. His movements appeared jerky and robotic in the strobing lights. His head began to throb, but he could still hear Donna. As long as he could hear Donna…

He skidded to a halt as a figure appeared in front of him. His mouth dropped open. What was this? This was… No, this was impossible. He couldn't even bring himself to voice his bewilderment. He just stared ahead, eyes wide.

The other Doctor was looking at him, compassion and sorrow etched on his face. He was pale and sickly looking, with a cut on his right temple. The shoulder of his suit was torn and caked with a sticky, black substance. Behind him, arms around two children, was Donna. She was pale herself, covered from head to toe in dust. The hatred in her eyes as she stared at him… Why would she look at him like that? What had he done?

He said her name, only his voice didn't pass his lips. Instead, he said, '_Bzzonnazzz_.' He blinked. '_Bzzzz…zzzuzzz_.'

The other Doctor sighed and shook his head. 'I'm sorry.' He said, in a voice he had heard a million times before. 'I'm so sorry.'

He stared at the scene before him. The Doctor. Donna Noble. Oscar and Bea Fields. A rage crept up inside of him and he felt his hands clenching and unclenching by his sides. How dare they! How dare they escape from him! The four of them! Full of those wonderfully succulent emotions… _wasting_ them out there in that awful, awful void. Wasting them when they could be feeding a magnificent being such as himself. A being who was so perfect. They should be on their knees, begging to be the ones who kept him alive. Instead they did _this_! Hiding! Sneaking around!

The creature buzzed in anger and leapt forward. The Doctor raised the weapon in his hand and stepped in front of Donna and the children. Staring at the advancing creature with that infuriating sympathy, he apologised again, and pulled the trigger.


	12. Authority Figure

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who's left those wonderful reviews, you lot are brilliant :D So nice :3 It means a lot to know people are really enjoying my work (and encourages me to update quicker - although I don't think I can update any quicker xD) But really, thank you you're awesome. On a downer note though, I think there's probably only five more chapters left. Maybe six. :P**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

**Authority Figure**

'Want some?'

Donna glanced up, roused from her thoughts. She looked at the dull tin that the young boy was holding out to her. 'No.' she replied, and then quickly added. 'Thanks.'

Oscar shrugged and picked out a tin opener from the mess around him with ease. He struggled to open it – the tin opener was slightly rusted – and then dug into the contents with a spoon. Even with it opened Donna still couldn't tell what it was the tin contained. Her gaze crawled across the hideout again and fell upon the sleeping girl.

'Does she scream like that a lot?' she asked.

Oscar nodded. 'Umm hmm.' He replied through a mouthful of the mystery food. 'Not as much as she used to though.'

Donna half nodded. 'That… _thing_… it infected her.'

Oscar nodded again.

'How long?' I mean… how long was she… y'know…'

Oscar set the tin down, apparently no longer hungry. 'About… a day? Maybe just a little under that? I don't know. I wasn't checking my watch.'

'Of course, sorry.' Donna mumbled. 'I just need to know. My friend, the Doctor, he's been stuck there for… oh I don't know a good few hours. Like you I haven't exactly been keeping track.' She offered him a smile, but he only picked up the tin again and began prodding at the contents silently. 'Anyway… if we have any chance of getting away from this place we need him.' She regarded him for a moment, sensing that he didn't believe her. 'He's special, the Doctor. He deals with stuff like this all the time. More times than I'd like if I'm honest, but he's… well, he's like the Doctor of weird things. He probably graduated from Weird University. He's clever, and he's brave and… and we need him. We need to go get him.'

Oscar slammed the tin down and snapped his head up to her. In the dim light he reminded Donna of a child corrupted by war, there wasn't a single spark left in his dull eyes. 'Well that's good to know.' He snapped. 'It's good to know that we had a chance of getting out of here before that thing got him.'

Donna frowned back. 'But you got your sister out! If you got her out then we can get the Doctor.'

'No!' The ferocity in Oscar's voice made Donna recoil. He took in a sharp breath. 'Look, lady, I don't think you realise what that thing is like. If it grabs us, then that's it. No chance. Game over.'

'We're not just giving up.'

Oscar snorted. 'The sooner you realise that we're stuck here and that your Doctor friend is dead and gone, the easier it will be. For all of us. Now just shut up.'

Donna stared at the young boy incredulously. She didn't like being told to shut up, whatever the situation. 'Look, matey,' she snapped. 'You might have been living without anyone telling you what to do for a while, but I'm here now. I'm an adult, and what I say goes, got that?'

Oscar stared at her. 'And what does that make me? A child?'

Donna spluttered for a moment. 'Well… yes! You are! How old are you, fifteen? Fourteen?'

Oscar frowned. 'Thirteen.'

'Exactly!' Donna cried. 'You're just a kid! You _can't_ just hide away in this stinking… _hole_ for the rest of your life! What about your sister? You need to get her somewhere safe! To someone who can look after her!'

'_I'm _looking after her.' The boy shot venomously.

'No offence, you've done a bloomin' good job so far, but what if she gets ill? What if she needs a doctor? What if you're out there one day looking for food and that thing gets you? She'll be left here all on her own. Is that fair? What would you rather do, wait for something like that to happen or make an effort to get to safety.'

Oscar's cheeks had flushed red. 'I'm not a kid.' He told her, firmly.

Donna rubbed her face in exasperation. 'Don't give me that. Now, are you going to help me get the Doctor back or sit here whining over being called a kid?'

He looked at her for a long moment, defiance making his jaw tense. Then he relaxed and exhaled heavily. He shuddered, and in that moment he transformed from a stubborn, angry young man to a frightened child. 'I'm just scared.' He said in a small voice. 'I want my mum and dad.' He lowered his head and began to sob quietly.

Donna felt her heart sink. She reached out and pulled the boy to her, cuddling him. She felt him quivering with his tears. 'It's okay.' She told him, soothingly. 'I'll get you both out here. I promise.'

* * *

_Well_…

Well seemed to be the only think the Doctor could think of at the moment. The peculiarity and… well… just downright _unexpectedness_ of his last dream had left him feeling bewildered and speechless. Although this new state of confusion was much more welcomed than what he had been feeling earlier. It had also injected him with new motivation to find a way out of this place. Another motivation was the bemusing revelation that that creature was actually _afraid_ of him.

It made sense that it would be afraid of him. It was spending a lot of time linked up to him – attached to his subconscious to make the nightmares spill out. While in there it must have seen things. Things so bad that even that creature had been rattled by it. Something had happened in the last transfer. Instead of living through his own nightmare, the Doctor had seen the creature's nightmare.

Well.

This was a revelation. A step forward. It reminded him of something that Reinette, or rather Madame du Pompadour. A door, once opened, may be stepped through in either direction. Fantastic woman, Madame du Pompadour. And she was right, because that was exactly what was happening here.

Without even realising, the Doctor released a loud, '_Ha_!' (Which of course had no effect with their being no matter in this space). He grinned, feeling exhilarated. He felt a bit more like himself. No more of this moping around feeling sorry for himself – he had a crazy dream world to be escaping! He had to go find Donna! No time for self-pity.

Well, really, he had all the time in the world for self-pity. Who knew when the next nightmare would come along? Frankly he just didn't feel like being a misery guts anymore. This was familiar ground. This was a leverage he needed to get himself out of here once and for all.

Now he just had to wait for the next dream. To help pass the time, the Doctor decided to start off a round of 'One Hundred Green Bottles'.

* * *

Donna looked up into the black vent above her and shuddered. She didn't want to go in there again, the last time had been like something out of some horribly scripted sci-fi movie. Plus she had never been that keen of confined spaces. But then again produce someone who does. Apart from, say, Houdini wannabes or maybe vampires in coffins.

Coffins. She shuddered again. Not the ideal thing to be thinking about when you were setting off on a suicide mission with a thirteen year old kid to go with you. To be fair she didn't want him to leave the vents. She wouldn't have allowed him to come at all if it wasn't for the fact she had no idea where anything was and this boy seemed to know the layout like the back of his very grimy hands. She certainly didn't want him to bring the young girl with him.

Behind her she heard a sorrowful call, like some kind of mourning animal. It pulled at her heartstrings but she couldn't let it affect her right now. She needed to be focused. She needed to be on the ball for this whole Doctor-rescue ordeal. He did it all the time! Couldn't be that hard.

'I think she's okay to go.' Oscar said from behind.

Donna looked around. Oscar stood in the opening of the box-made fort that he had made for himself and his sister. Under his right arm was the young girl, Bea, pale and trembling. Her eyes were on Donna's face, but Donna had a sickening feeling that Bea wasn't seeing her.

'I don't think this is a good idea.' Donna said in a wavering voice, failing to sound authoritative – a thing she usually had no bother with. 'I mean, you can just help me find the Doctor, and then come straight back here. It'll be safer for both of you.'

Oscar just looked at her calmly. 'I want the next time I leave this room to be the last time I leave. Whether it's because we escape or…' He shrugged. 'It's the best way.'

Donna regarded him quietly for a moment. He didn't need patronising. His mind was set. After he had finished crying he had been calmer and had been thinking clearer. He wanted to get his sister out of this room, whatever the consequences and Donna, probably not even the Doctor, would be able to stop him. 'Okay.' She nodded. She offered a bit of animation in an attempt to brighten the morose mood. She put her hand on her hip and cocked her head. 'Right then, let's stop dilly-dallying and nansy-pansying and get up into that vent.'

She fancied at Bea's eyes actually focused properly on her for a moment, but it could have just been her imagination. Oscar offered her a wan smile and then moved forward.

'You first.' He said to Donna. 'Then we can help Bea in.'

Donna nodded and watched as he pulled up a table for them to climb onto. 'Piece of cake.' She lied.


	13. Jumping Minds

**Chapter Twelve**

**Jumping Minds**

The Doctor had gotten all the way down to thirteen green bottles when he began to feel the matter-less world around him grow substance. He made a mental note of thirteen being his favourite number (the whole unlucky thirteen thing was just a load of tosh), and then closed his eyes. He concentrated as hard as he could on his next destination.

Hopefully he could decide on the next illusion.

Hopefully.

* * *

Donna glanced behind her, which turned out to be quite a hard thing to do taking that she only had about five centimetres of space on either side of her. It seemed a lot narrower than it had done earlier, so that either meant that mouthful of weird sloppy stuff she had out of the tin had made her gain about twenty pounds or she simply hadn't noticed the first time. Despite the small amount of space she could see the young girl's face in the dimness. She just looked blank. Oscar had just picked her up and pushed her through the vent, where Donna had taken her. Bea never said a word through the whole thing. She should have been asking where they were going, if they were finally getting away… but instead she just stared.

'I think you should've been in front, Oscar,' Donna said. 'Haven't got a clue where I'm going. Never had a sense of direction me. Even getting a Sat-Nav didn't help. Could get lost in a paper bag, I tell you.'

'Just keep on going the way we came,' Oscar told her, ignoring her last attempt at lightening the mood. 'Your friend probably won't be far away from where you were. Wouldn't make sense to split you up too far. It's not like you tried to bust out or anything.'

Donna opened her mouth to tell him about the encounter with the bolt cutters, but decided against it. It would only worry him and make her look like a bit of an idiot. Anyway, it was a good as place as any to start. It's not like any of them knew the creatures favourite hangouts or anything. She kept going, keeping quiet. Eventually they got to the part of the vent that sloped downwards, and that was when she knew they were close.

'We should be really quiet,' she whispered to the other two. 'If it hears us it might wait. It did that, with me and the Doctor. It just waited outside the door and…' She trailed off, catching Oscars nervous face. She forced a laugh. 'But I doubt it would do that now, cos… well…' She trailed off. 'Just keep quiet. No more whispering.'

'You're the only one whispering.' Bea said in a breathy, quiet voice.

Donna blinked. She hadn't even known the young girl was capable of listening, let alone responding. Oscar didn't seem surprised by her speaking, so Donna just nodded. 'Right.' She whispered. 'Okay. I'll stop whispering. Come on then. It slopes, so be careful.'

The vent also widened here, which was a relief. She had never been claustrophobic or anything, but no one would find this kind of thing pleasant. She get her legs out in front of her (bumping her head a couple of times in the process) and then began to slowly slide down.

It occurred to her that they must have been running blind the first time they had come through the vent as she couldn't remember it being so far. Her knees were sore from rubbing along the metal floor and her neck was beginning to ache. Now her bum was getting sore from shuffling along in this new position. Despite that though, she wasn't looking forward to getting out.

'Here.' Oscar whispered suddenly after they had reached the bottom and travelled a little further. 'It's along here where I saw you. I remember.'

Sure enough, there was a black grate ahead. Donna peered down into the dark room and saw the table that she had been strapped to a few hours earlier. There was no way she was going back down there. She looked ahead and saw the vent splitting off in two directions. She shuffled around so she was facing Oscar and Bea. Bea was still staring blankly, while Oscar was a little breathless and nervous.

'We'll try the left vent first.' Donna told him. 'Then if he's not along there we'll come back and try the other. There's no point going down there where we can get spotted.'

'Why don't we split up?' Oscar asked. 'I can take Bea and go one way, and you can go the other.'

Donna frowned. 'I don't bloomin' think so matey. You two are my responsibility now and you're not leaving my sight.' She paused. 'God I sound like Judith Fletcher. She was the last person I'd expected to have kids. She had big thighs.'

Oscar only looked at her.

'There was a lady in our street that had big thighs.' Bea said quietly, expression unchanging.

Donna glanced to her. 'That's nice.' She nodded. 'Right then. We're going this way first.'

'I thought you said no more whispering.' Oscar half smirked.

Donna sighed. 'Well I had to tell you… Oh never mind.' She turned and began to crawl again. 'Never having kids, me.' She muttered. 'Cheeky swines.'

* * *

The Doctor opened his eyes quickly. He had never understood people who opened their eyes slowly – you might as well get the shock over and done with instead of shying away from it as if the horrible thing would miraculously morph into a box of puppies while you were opening them. He looked around, and then a grin quickly stretched across his face.

It had worked! The first reason he knew it had worked was because he could remember everything and the second reason was because he was standing on a beach on the Xelar Leisure planet just off the orbit of Clom. A funny place for a leisure planet, but there you go. He grinned, pushing his hands in his pockets.

'Alright then!' he called. 'I think we can both admit that I've messed up your little feeding frenzy! How about you buzz on down here and we can have a little chat. Man to… man bug. What do you say?' He paused, but could hear nothing apart from the ocean lapping the shore. 'Oh come on. Surely you like the beach! There's always flies on the beach! Landing on your ice cream, getting stuck in sun cream. Or is that midges… same thing really. Midges are just smaller and make less noise. Still irritating. Not that you're irritating. You're more… unbearable. Like Oprah.'

There was a faint buzz, but it quickly disappeared.

'Well you might as well,' the Doctor flapped his arms in boredom. 'Because unless you can feed of smugness, which I don't think you can, you can't be getting much of a meal. Come on down! Enjoy the sun!'

There was a long silence, and the Doctor listened hard. The buzzing returned, low at first, and then grew louder. In the time it took him to blink, the creature arrived. It stood in the sand about twenty yards from him, hunched over and staring at him with its huge, segmented eyes. Its lips pulled back and relaxed rhythmically in time with its angry buzzing. The Doctor grinned and waved.

'Hi there,' he beamed. 'Nice of you to join me. I thought of maybe taking us to a sewage pipe or a landfill site or something, but it would be a bit smelly for me. You would have loved it though. Have you been to the planet-fill? Not far from here, actually. Xelar, I mean, not… well… wherever we really are.'

The creature's buzzing only seemed angrier. It glared at him for a while, its wings twitching. Finally, it moved its head to the other side. '_Howzz do you doozzz zzzat?_' it enquired, slick black substance wetting its chin.

The Doctor shrugged. 'Just a dab of concentration. Helps if you stick your tongue out sometimes. More room for you brain, that way.'

The creature continued to stare. '_You'rezzz the Doczztorzz.'_

The Doctor smiled again. 'That's me. And you are? Sorry, for now I've just named you the Fly. Or Buzz-Man. Or Buzz Lightyear.' He chuckled. 'Yes, I think I'll just call you Buzz Lightyear.'

The creature grinned. _'Or the Zzzandman.'_

The Doctor wrinkled his nose. 'Well… if you would prefer. But I think I might get sued if I throw that name around too much. Not sure if anyone holds the rights to Sandman. It's like the song _Happy Birthday_. Sing that in the wrong quadrant and _bang_ you're slammed with a lawsuit before you can get to 'you smell like a zoo'. Or _flytip_ would be more relevant in your case. But then again it's not the fly that smells, is it? Although I've never gotten close enough to a fly to find out. Apart from now of course but-'

'_I azzzked how do you do zzzzat?'_ the creature hissed.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'And I told you. Just concentrate. Oh, and a bit of telepathy. Comes in handy, that does.'

'_You want me to releazzzze youzzz.'_ The creature sneered.

'Well, that would be nice.' The Doctor nodded. 'But I know you won't. Bet I give off some good emotions, eh? I was told I was emotionally potent by someone once. Not sure if I should have been offended, but I took it as a compliment.'

'_Yezzz,_' the creature nodded, feet gently padding on the sand. '_Lotzzz of anger. Fearzzzz.'_

The Doctor shrugged, although this time less animatedly. 'I used to have a lot of patience. Tends to wear thin over the years. Especially with things who try to kill me.'

The creature made a loud buzzing sound that the Doctor assumed was laughter. '_You'll never ezzzcape me.'_

'No?' The Doctor cocked an eyebrow. 'You're standing on my beach.'

The creature grinned. '_No.'_ it replied. '_My beachzzz._'

The Doctor frowned slightly, and then looked around. Dozens of people had appeared from nowhere, sitting on deckchairs, splashing in the ocean. Children were building sandcastles, pestering their parents to bury them in the sand. This wasn't the unsettling thing. The unsettling thing was their large, insectoid heads. They didn't scream and shout and laugh, the buzzed. All of them were _buzzing_.

The Doctor looked around at the creature, stricken. 'No…' he mumbled, and then frowned. 'No! You can't do this! You _can't_!'

The creature grinned. '_Another emotionzzzz I likezzz izzzz hope. Zzzo much hope._'

The Doctor stared around frantically. The fly-headed people were advancing on him, their human bodies still clutching buckets and spades and books and suncream. The buzzing was growing louder and louder. The Doctor clamped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes tightly. It only seemed louder, like it was inside his head. It was so loud that the only way he knew that he was screaming was because his throat started hurting.


	14. Dropping In

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Dropping In**

'It's here.' Bea whispered, her voice barely audible.

Donna and Oscar looked at each other in alarm. They were hunched in the vent above the room that had become the Doctor's prison, where they had been hunched for nearly twenty minutes now. They had found him relatively quickly – probably mostly from luck – but none of them had been keen on being the first one to drop down to see if the creature was lurking about. So they had decided on waiting, to see if it came buzzing out of the shadows or anything. Donna had no idea how long they were planning on waiting, but she had been close to just climbing down and getting on with it when Bea finally spoke.

'Quiet.' Oscar told her gently, wrapping a skinny arm around her. 'Keep still as stone, Bea.'

Donna licked her lips and peered down through the grate. She could see the Doctor directly below, lying on the table. His eyes were closed, his jaw set. She could see his eyeballs moving erratically beneath his eyelids. The fingers of his right hand were twitching. His skin was chalk white. She needed to get him out of there. Now, if not sooner.

But before she could make a move to pull up the grate, she heard the familiar sliding sound of the door opening. She froze, and then looked around to Oscar and Bea. She put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Oscar hugged his sister tighter. Donna leaned over the grate and watched.

The creature scuttled across the floor, cloudy bottles of water in its arms. It dumped them on the floor and then snatched one from the pile, buzzing quietly as it went. Its movements reminded Donna of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings movies. Of course Gollum was a lot cuter. It clumsily unscrewed the cap and scrambled up onto the table. Donna grimaced as it sat on the Doctor's stomach and used one of its long fingered hands to open lift his head and open his mouth. Still buzzing, it poured the water into the Doctor's mouth. He coughed and spluttered, but didn't wake. Donna felt a pang of anger. She couldn't bear to watch the Doctor in such a state – rendered helpless and weak. Not after all the magnificent things she had seen him do. She wasn't going to sit back and let him waste away in the hands of that horrible overgrown bluebottle. She gritted her teeth, and then looked around to Oscar.

Oscar could see what she was going to do and began to shake his head. _No_, he mouthed.

Donna just pressed her lips together and waved her hand, signalling him to take Bea further down the vent out of harms way. Oscar only shook his head again, more vigorously. Donna rolled her eyes and waved her arm again. Oscar only shook his head again.

_I'm the adult_, Donna mouthed at him. _Now go_!

Oscar shook his head, frowning. _It'll get you._

'You too if you don't do as I say,' Donna hissed, unable to prevent herself from upgrading to a quiet whisper. 'Now get moving.'

'I'm not going to let you drop down there for it to get you too,' Oscar snapped back. 'You're our only chance at getting out here alive now, and I'll be damned if I let you go and get killed in some stupid move. Now just wait until it's gone again!'

Donna scowled. 'Look, matey, I know what I'm doing. I've faced off plenty of big stinking bugs, including the ones in Uncle Barry's flat. Now you two get back while I…'

She hadn't realised at first but her voice had been getting gradually louder and louder. She froze and fell silent, and at the same time Oscar's eyes widened in realisation. The buzzing had stopped. Donna swallowed hard, and then looked down.

The creature had become perfectly still and was looking straight up at the vent, right at her. Donna sighed heavily.

'Bugger.' She muttered.

The creature buzzed loudly and bared its teeth, before launching off the Doctor and flying up right towards her. Donna released an involuntary squeal (which was remarkably un-Donna like) and threw herself back on the two kids to push them back down the vent.

'Go!' she cried. 'Go! It won't come in the vent!'

This time though, the creature decided that their escape couldn't be allowed. The black grate shot up and the top half of the creature burst into the vent. It buzzed ferociously and struggled to pull its arms through the hole. Donna yelled out in alarm and kicked it in the side of its head. It buzzed drunkenly for a moment, dazed by the impact, but when it recovered it only seemed angrier. The stinger on its face began to unfurl.

'Go!' Donna yelled at the children. 'For God's sake get a flippin' move on!'

Bea and Oscar were scrambling over one another, struggling to turn around in the narrow space. Donna knew they weren't going anywhere fast, and time was of the essence here. She turned around with a gasp as she felt a strong hand on her ankle.

'Gerroff me, Goldblum!' she screeched, kicking both legs frantically.

A new sound suddenly cut through the air. It was loud and piercing, and it actually made Donna give up her struggle and clamp her hands over her ears. The creature buzzed furiously, also releasing Donna to clamp its hands on its head. Bea sat bolt upright in Oscar's arms, screaming. It was an inhuman sound, amplified by the close quarters of the vent.

This shrill scream seemed to have more of an effect on the creature than it did Donna or Oscar, as it dropped out of the vent and landed in the room with a crash. Donna scrambled up and peered down, to see it writhing on the floor, making a sound that was a mixture of buzzing and groaning. Donna looked around and saw Oscar trying to soothe the screaming child and realised that this was probably her only chance. Before Oscar had a chance to stop her and even before her own rationality could, she dropped down into the room.

The creature writhed and wailed. Donna watched it for a moment, hoping that the young girl could keep up her screaming for a little while longer. At that moment though, practically as soon as she thought it, Bea stopped screaming. Donna's ears rung with the after effects, but that wasn't what she was worrying about.

The creature scrambled to its feet, and turned to face her.

'You should meet my mate Queen of the Racnoss. She'd sort you out. If she wasn't already dead.' Donna told it, warily backing away.

'Donna!' Oscar yelled from above.

'Get out of here, Oscar!' she called back, keeping her eyes on the approaching creature. 'Or, if you're feeling a bit big-brotherly, give your sister a pinch so she screams again.'

No screams. Instead, just as Donna thought that the creature was going to lunge at her, Oscar dropped from the vent and landed right on top of it. Both of them tumbled to the door in a mess of tangled limbs. The creature buzzed, louder than ever. Donna started forward, and then caught sight of the bolt cutters that lay beside the upturned table she had previously been captive on. She ran to them, snatched them up, and ran to the creature and Oscar.

'Oi!' she yelled. 'Buzz boy!'

The creature shoved Oscar off it and stabbed at him with its stinger, but Oscar rolled out of the way. It got up again and turned on Donna, snapping its teeth. Before it could do anything else though, Donna smacked it around the head with the bolt cutters. The buzzing stopped abruptly and it swayed for a moment, before dropping on the floor.

'Knew I'd get these bolt cutters eventually.' Donna breathed. She looked around for Oscar and saw him getting up, dusting himself off. 'Are you okay?'

Oscar nodded, breath heaving in and out. 'Apart from the fact I think I'm about to have a heart attack.'

Donna nodded. 'I know the feeling. Now get your sister. We're getting out of here.' She moved to the table and began to cut through the chains.

There was one little worry that Donna hadn't felt appropriate to share with Oscar. They had found the Doctor, but that was the easy part. The hard part was going to be waking him up.

That's if he ever did wake up.


	15. A Bit Of Convincing

**Chapter Fourteen**

**A Bit Of Convincing**

Both Oscar and Bea stared warily at the still creature as Oscar lifted his younger sister down from the vent. The creature was flat on its back, apparently unconscious. Donna was fussing with the chains around the Doctor, cursing and muttering because she didn't appear to be getting anywhere quickly.

'These things are all designed for men's hands,' Donna grumbled as she fumbled with the tool. 'Sexism in tool design. Bloomin' disgraceful.'

'Maybe you should hit it again.' Oscar suggested, staring at the creature.

Donna frowned at the bolt cutters. 'How would that help? That only works with electronic things…' She glanced back and realised he wasn't talking about the bolt cutters. 'Oh… Oh he'll be out for a while. Gave him one heck of a whack. Now come here and help me get these flippin' chains off.'

Oscar pulled Bea along with him, giving the creature a wide berth. He took the bolt cutters and successfully cut through the chains in four clips. Donna wrinkled her nose in distaste.

'Disgraceful.' She repeated again, and then pulled off the chains.

The Doctor began to stir on the table, at first making a low groaning sound. Donna grabbed his face in both her hands and shook him.

'Doctor!' she cried. 'Doctor, can you hear me? Oh… bloody hell I didn't think you were going to wake up at all.' She shook him again as his eyelids began to struggle open. 'You should have seen me clout that thing round the bonce. Got a right shock, it did. Couldn't have done it without Oscar though, the spry little devil. And Bea… Oi, are you listening?'

The Doctor's eyes rolled and he blinked a couple of times before his eyes found Donna. She smiled broadly with relief, but he only sighed and shut his eyes again. Donna's smile dropped and she frowned in confusion.

'Now is not the time to be having lie-ins.' She snapped, shaking him.

'I give up.' The Doctor muttered. 'You can't fool me anymore. Just… stop.'

Donna cocked her head in confusion. 'What the bloomin' hell are you on about? Get up, will you?' She tugged on him, but he only turned his head away.

'He thinks it's a dream.' Oscar pointed out, quickly checking that the creature was still there. 'He doesn't think we're real.'

'Oh I'll show him real.' Donna snorted. She turned to the Doctor and slapped him neatly across the cheek.

'Ow!' he cried, snapping fully awake. He stared at her incredulously.

'You can get that skinny hide up off that table right now, mister!' Donna commanded. 'I didn't just squeeze through a million flippin' miles of air vent just so you could go all… _Matrix_ on me!'

The Doctor's eyebrows sloped. '_Matrix?'_

'It's the only thing I could think of.' Donna tugged him upright. 'Now get up. Buzz-boy will probably be waking up soon.'

The Doctor resisted her and glanced around. His gaze lingered on Oscar and Bea, and then found the unconscious creature. 'At least this time I'm not it.' He muttered.

Donna wrinkled her nose. 'What? Just come on, will you? To the TARDIS. Then anywhere that isn't here.' She pulled on his arm impatiently.

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. 'Look, I know this isn't real, so…' He sighed. 'I might as well do what you want and get the whole thing over and done with.' He paused and glanced at Donna. 'And I must say, my mental version of you is a lot more violent.'

'Mental version?' Donna cried. 'I'll show you bloomin' mental.' She lifted her hand again and the Doctor cowered.

'Alright, alright,' he muttered, swinging his legs off the table. 'I'm coming.' He sat for a moment to pull himself together, ignoring Donna's impatient foot-tapping. Then he noticed the unconscious creature again over the top of his hand and stopped. 'Wait a minute…'

Donna prodded him. 'Well you get a _move on_!' she barked.

The Doctor smiled hesitantly, like if he showed his delight too much then the creature would hop up and slap him around the face. When it didn't do any such thing, the Doctor's smile turned into a grin. He looked around to Donna, eyes finally beginning to return to life. 'You clobbered it, you say?'

Donna nodded. 'Right round the bonce.'

The Doctor hopped off the table. 'If it is actually unconscious, that means the telepathic link was severed as soon as it went down. That means I'm actually out. I'm really…' He trailed off and got down onto his hands and knees to inspect the creature more closely. 'But then again this could just be another illusion trying to convince me that I'm out when I'm really still inside my own head to get my hopes up. If that's the case then it's already working because I'm getting my hopes up. But that's no good, because if I'm giving it something to feed on it's just going to do it again and again and…'

'Oi!' Donna cried. 'We haven't got all day you know. Are you going to come with us or stay here theorising like a stoned philosopher?'

The Doctor stood up and whirled around, pointing a finger at her. 'Ah-_ha_! See, now I _know_ you're not the real Donna! That joke is far too high-brow for the real Donna Noble. She would have compared me to a bloated goldfish or something that had nothing to do with…' He trailed off. Donna stared at him, lips pressed together and eyes staring. The Doctor winced. 'You're the real Donna, aren't you?'

Donna glared. 'Yes.' She replied in her offended, over dramatic way. 'I am. The normal, _stupid_ Donna.'

The Doctor looked like he was about to apologise again, but then grinned instead. He lunged forward, wrapping his long arms around her and squeezing tightly. 'Ah my brilliant, normal, stupid Donna Noble. I knew you'd get your act together and rescue me sooner or later.'

Donna was unsure whether to continue to be furious or be happy. 'At least you're grateful now. Insulting, but grateful.'

The Doctor let go of her, still beaming. 'Right then! What was next in your plan of action?'

Donna shifted. 'Well… we found you. You woke up…' She paused, and then shrugged. 'Guess that was the end of our plan of action. Now it's your turn for the plan of action.'

The Doctor looked at her. 'What if I had been out of action? What if I hadn't woken up or I'd gone all weird in the noggin? Then what would you have done?'

Donna put her hands on her hips. 'Slap you about a bit more,' she snarled. 'Which I'm thinking might just help us out again now.'

'Alright,' the Doctor raised a hand. 'Sorry. I apologise. I'm feeling a bit… bendy.'

'Bendy?' Donna cocked an eyebrow.

'Yes. Don't ask. Right… plan of action.' The Doctor rubbed his chin and blinked.

Oscar cleared his throat. 'Perhaps we should get out of here. And, oh I don't know… lock the door behind us?'

The Doctor glanced down at the creature. 'Brilliant idea. It's Oscar, isn't it?' He smiled. 'Well done, Oscar. If I had any jelly babies you most certainly would be offered one. Maybe even two.'

Oscar looked more confused than proud and only hugged Bea tighter under one arm. Donna shook her head in disbelief and then ushered the two children towards the door. 'Don't mind him,' she told Oscar. 'He's always weird. Even when he hasn't just woken up out of some alien dream.' When she turned around to tell the Doctor to get a move on (for the millionth time), she saw him kneeling by the side of the creature, prodding it with a pencil. 'What the heck are you doing now?'

The Doctor rubbed the pencil against the creature's black sticky mouth and grimaced. 'We should really give him some mouthwash.' He commented.

Donna stormed over to him and grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him to his feet. 'Right, I don't care how bendy you're feeling, you're coming right now.'

'Donna, just wait a-'

'No! I'm not hanging around for Goldblum to wake up. We're getting out of here. Right _now_!'

The Doctor rolled his eyes. 'Right, fine. Okay.' He pushed the pencil (which had some of the gooey black substance on the end) carefully into his pocket. 'Now, you didn't happen to check which was the right way back to the TARDIS while you were up in the vents, did you?'

Donna frowned deeply, but said nothing.

'Right.' The Doctor said quickly. 'Well, I suppose we'll just have to…'

Behind them, the creature began to buzz groggily. The four of them looked around at it in alarm. Bea opened her mouth, but Oscar quickly covered it with his hand.

'We'll just have to run.' The Doctor replied lamely, and then slammed the door shut. On the other side, the creature sat up. It bared its teeth in anger, and buzzed furiously.


	16. An Unorganised Mind

**Chapter Fifteen**

**An Unorganised Mind**

Before Donna could really have any reaction to the fact that the creature had just woken up she felt herself and the children being bustled down the corridor by a quicker than usual Doctor. Another thing she noticed besides his newfound boost in agility was the kind of blank look on his face. Like he wasn't really putting his heart into all this fleeing-in-terror stuff. He didn't even bother looking over his shoulder dramatically, and he _always_ did that.

'You do know we are real, don't you?' Donna frowned as she was shoved along behind Oscar and Bea. 'And we are probably going to be ambushed by a giant fly just now.'

'It doesn't really matter what I think,' the Doctor replied, ignoring the thumps of the creature trying to break out of the room behind them. 'I'll take you as far as I can, but I'll probably just wake up in that God-awful Limbo place in about ten minutes time.'

Donna frowned. 'So you don't think we're real.'

'I never said that,' the Doctor replied. 'Although it has put everything into a kind of bewildering perspective. What if I've already experienced reality in those dreams, but I didn't even realise it? What if what I think of as my conscious thoughts are nothing but imaginations of some other being currently in deep sleep somewhere? What if I'm not really the last of the Time Lords who can travel anywhere through time and space but a street jet servicer who just had one two many out of date cheese sarnies last night? Sounds more likely, doesn't it? And the vividness of my memories would just be the after effects of that veiny blue mould I didn't notice before I put the other bit of stale bread on the top.' He paused and frowned. 'Well, this real life version of me seems a bit of a waster. I should keep a mental note to sort my life out when I wake up.'

Donna stared at him as she hurried forward. 'You've lost it.' She told him.

'Possibly.' The Doctor shrugged. 'But all that can be put on standby for a minute. After all, we are being chased.'

Donna frowned. 'Glad to see you're finally getting some perspective.'

The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder. 'It probably won't take long before it realises I didn't actually lock the door.' He looked ahead again. 'Let's just hope there's actually something useful down this way.'

'I thought you said he could help us get out of here?' Oscar cried, breathless and panicked. 'He's a frigging nutter!'

'Now, Oscar,' the Doctor replied. 'It's all fair to have opinions but try and hold back the ones that can hurt feelings.' He raised his head as a door began to come forward on the right. 'Oh, I think this room is as good as any. In we go!'

Despite thinking the man was insane, Oscar complied and swung into the room, pulling Bea behind him. Just as the Doctor shoved Donna inside, the door containing the creature banged open.

'Thirty two seconds,' the Doctor mused. 'Perhaps he's not a smart as he likes to think.' He closed the door and pulled a metal lever that made a heavy looking crossbar fall over the door. 'Although I remember this one time when I was getting chased by a group of Sontarans and…' He stopped to chuckle. 'They got stuck at a door…' He laughed louder, struggling to continue. 'The potato headed numpties were _pushing_ instead of _pulling_! Took them twenty minutes to figure that one out! Ah, and they say they're one of the most strategic and intelligent races in the galaxy. Bet they have door meetings now.' He laughed again, wiping his teary eyes. 'Love to see them tackle a revolving door.' This set him off, and he began laughing hysterically.

Donna, Oscar and Bea stared at him in stunned silence. Finally, he managed to compose himself. He wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands and sighed.

'Sorry,' he grinned. 'Still a bit… bendy.' He sniggered again.

'You're bonkers.' Donna stated, flatly.

'Maybe so.' The Doctor nodded. 'Maybe so. Anyway, we should really come up with a plan. I doubt we'll get another chance to clobber it round the bonce and plus you left the bolt cutters behind.'

Donna looked taken aback. 'So it's my fault?'

'Don't be so defensive,' the Doctor told her. 'I was only saying. Anyway, would we need them? I don't see any bolts that need cutting.'

Donna began to reply to that, but then realised she had nothing to say to it. She hesitated, and then frowned deeply. 'Will you stop trying to give Carlos Crazypants a run for his money and help think of something to get us out of here?'

The Doctor nodded. 'I'm getting to that, hold your horses. Right…' He gazed around the room. 'No air vents. No other exits. Well this was a bloomin' good choice of room, wasn't it?'

'You chose it.' Oscar pointed out.

'Yes, quite right.' The Doctor nodded, and then tapped his chin in thought. He glanced around the room. 'Hmm… well it appears we're in a medical bay. Anyone have any injuries?'

'You will in a minute, matey.' Donna growled.

The Doctor turned to innocently defend himself but before he could, the creature thumped noisily against the other side of the door. It hit it so hard that the door actually bulged inwards slightly. Instinctively, the Doctor pushed Donna and the children away from it. He began to speak, but Bea's shrill screaming drowned him out.

'Bea!' Oscar cried, fighting not to cover both his ears. 'Bea stop! You have to stop!'

Instead of the creature recoiling from the sound, it only seemed to anger it further. It thumped and banged and scraped the heavy metal, causing the door to throb like it was alive, and with each attempt to break down the door, Bea's scream got louder.

'You have to stop her!' Donna yelled at Oscar, hands clamped over her ears.

'I can't!' Oscar yelled back, unable to resist the urge to block his hearing. He let go of Bea's arms and slapped his palms on the side of his head. 'Bea! _Please_!'

Bea continued to scream. It was an impossible sound escaping her, like she had a siren built into her chest and there were tiny little people turning the handle as fast as they could. It was getting to the level where neither Donna nor Oscar could even tell her to stop anymore. The creature was pounding harder than ever on the door.

The Doctor knelt in front of Bea, apparently the only person who wasn't finding her screaming unbearable. He placed his hands on either side of her head and closed his eyes. Abruptly, her screams stopped. Donna and Oscar tentatively removed their hands from their ears and watched. The Doctor mumbled something to the young girl, something neither of them could hear because of the ringing that the screaming had left behind in their ears. The creature had stopped banging on the door. Suddenly, the young girl released a mournful wail and began to cry.

'_Mummy_!' she wailed.

Oscar lunged forward and pulled her into his arms. 'Bea? Bea, it's okay… it's okay…'

She sobbed into his shoulder, gripping onto him with tiny, claw like hands. Donna moved to the Doctor, watching the two children with tears in her own eyes. 'What did you do?' she asked.

'Her mind was wrong,' he told her, watching the children sadly. 'When she was in that place, it messed up her thoughts and her processes. Think of it like… you left the door of your office open and eight two year olds got into your filing cabinet and those files were your thoughts. She was trying to reorganise everything, but she was just too young. She needed a hand.'

Donna looked up at him. 'So you fixed her?'

The Doctor looked back at her sadly. 'Oh she'll never be fixed. Not after what she went through.'

Donna wiped her eye quickly. 'We need to get them away from here.'

The Doctor nodded and put an arm around her shoulders. 'I know.'

The creature thudded lamely on the door. The sudden silence had had some effect on it, but it was beginning to regain its momentum. It began thudding gradually, getting louder and louder. Bea didn't scream this time, she only cowered in her brother's arms.

'Right!' the Doctor cried, letting go of Donna. 'Plan of action!' He moved into the middle of the room and began clicking his fingers. 'We need a plan to get that thing out of action! Any ideas?'

'Hitting it round the head works.' Donna offered.

The Doctor pointed and nodded. 'Yes, but I doubt that's on the cards anymore. Something else. Oscar?'

Oscar hesitated. 'Um… We could try and kill it.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'No, we're not the killing kind, Oscar. That's a last resort. Anything else? Bea?'

Bea snuffled and glanced up. 'We need to make it go to sleep.' She mumbled.

The Doctor clicked his fingers and nodded excitedly. 'Yes, that's right. Send it to sleep. Now I doubt we'll just be able to sing it a lullaby and it'll drop off into dreamland…' He trailed off. After a couple of seconds of staring motionlessly, his eyes lit up and he jumped up and down. 'That's it! I've got it!'

Donna looked at him like he was mad. 'You've got the crazies.' She told him.

The Doctor reached into his pocket. 'The perfect way! Why didn't I think of it earlier? I really must be losing it.' He pulled out the pencil he had been using to prod the creature. The end glistened with the sticky black substance. He grinned broadly, a gesture that looked creepy with his pale skin and purple ringed eyes. 'We'll just give it a taste of its own medicine.'


	17. Face Off

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Face Off**

Donna watched the Doctor spring into action, still feeling overwhelmingly disorientated by his peculiar behaviour. He held the pencil in his teeth (black sticky stuff on the other end of course) and began to rummage through the cupboards on the far wall. Oscar was too busy fussing over his younger sister to pay attention, but Donna knew that the Doctor was scaring both of them. He was even scaring her a little.

'Don't you think you should slow down a little?' she suggested as he tossed various bits and pieces over his shoulders. 'Because… well…'

'What? This isn't the time to be slow!' the Doctor replied, pencil still in his mouth. He tossed a glass beaker over his shoulder, causing Donna to jump to the left just in time and it smashed on the floor. 'We don't dilly-dally, Donna. No time for dilly-dalliers.'

Donna hesitantly moved towards him, dodging the various flying hazards. 'Can you stop throwing things?!' she cried. 'You're going to put someone's eye out!'

The Doctor spun around on his haunches holding a first aid box. 'How would I put someone's eye out with this? Give someone one hell of a bump on the head but not poke out an eye.' He paused and looked at it. 'Although the corners are quite pointy…'

Donna snatched the first aid box and pointed at him with one finger. 'You stop it now!' she roared. 'You're acting like a flipping lunatic! Just slow down before you hurt somebody! Things would just fly through us you know! We're not flippin' figments of your imagination! If we don't do something we're going to get killed, do you understand that? Or have you gone completely bonkers?'

The Doctor looked at her for a long moment, expression hurt. 'I was only looking for a syringe.' He told her.

Donna opened the first aid kit dramatically and rummaged around inside. Finally she produced a thin syringe and dropped the box. Angrily, she held it up in front of him. 'There! Did you see me tossing stuff all over the bloomin' place? No! Now get on with whatever the hell it is you're doing _without_ being so bloomin' mental!'

The Doctor tentatively took the syringe and stood up. 'Well.' He mumbled, but then thought it wise not to continue. He moved away, slow at first but as soon as he was out of Donna's reach he quickened his pace. He stopped at a long, dusty metal bench and swiped everything off the surface with one swipe of his arm. Bea flinched and Oscar pulled her out of the way.

'What are you planning on doing anyway?' Donna demanded, hands on her hips. 'Inject it with its own poison? That won't work.'

The Doctor glanced around at her. 'Why not?' he asked.

'Well,' Donna snorted. 'For starters the flippin' stuff comes out of its mouth! It probably swallows loads of the stuff! Wouldn't be too good for it if it's dropping unconscious every five minutes.'

The Doctor half frowned and perched on the table, folding his legs beneath him. 'Why do you think I'm putting it in a syringe?' He took the pencil out of his teeth and replaced it with the end of the syringe. It pulled the plunger out and then pushed the sticky end of the pencil inside the narrow glass chamber. He twirled it around, making sure all the substance came off. 'The toxin is too strong for the creature to have a natural immunity,' he explained. 'Therefore the only logical answer is that it has a thicker and stronger internal system. And plus you've got to remember that it feeds off _emotions_, not anything with actual form, which means it doesn't need a stomach or a digestive system. Well, not one that you're familiar with anyway.' He tossed the pencil over his shoulder and took a moment to look at the black goo in the syringe. 'I need some water. Anyone got any water?'

The others responded with silent stares.

'Right, okay.' The Doctor hesitated, and then spat twice into the syringe.

'That's _disgusting_.' Donna breathed.

'Well I need to make it a bit thinner!' the Doctor insisted. 'It's no good if the stuff just gets the inside all sticky, is it?'

Donna continued to grimace. 'You're going to inject it with your _spit_?'

'That's pretty gross.' Bea agreed in a small voice.

The Doctor frowned. 'I'm injecting it with its own spit! No one thought that was gross?'

Bea and Oscar just exchanged bewildered glances. Donna folded her arms over her chest. 'Come on then. Finish telling us how it's going to work, smarty pants.'

'That I will.' The Doctor replied, replacing the plunger. He shook the syringe, mixing the small amount of body fluids together. 'With the toxin injected straight into its bloodstream it should set to work the same way it did on me. Down on the ground almost immediately. It'll be out for probably about an hour or so, but by then we'll be long gone. Taking we can actually find the TARDIS in that time. Which I'm sure we will,' he added quickly. He peered at the syringe, noting that there was a little less than five millimetres inside. 'I just hope that this is enough.'

'Hold on.' Donna held up a hand and closed her eyes in exasperation. When she opened them again, she was frowning. 'You're telling me that we're going to _inject _it. With your _spit_.'

'And its own!' the Doctor cried. 'That's worse! It's not like I'm rife with disease or anything!'

'The amount you travel?' Donna snorted. 'Bet you never get your vaccinations.'

He frowned defensively. 'I don't like needles.'

'I think what she meant was that you want to inject it,' Oscar said. 'Meaning someone has got to get close to it. I don't know how much you two saw but it moves pretty fast, y'know. There's more chance of it getting us before we get it.'

'Oscar's right.' Donna nodded. 'It's too risky. What if it just gets you again? You might not wake up at all this time. I mean look at the clip of you now! And that was only from being stabbed with it once.'

'It won't get the chance.' The Doctor scoffed. 'I'm like the wind- _whoa_!' He had attempted to make a fast gesture with his hand, but only succeeded in toppling off the table, narrowly missing stabbing himself with the needle. He paused, and then winced. 'Maybe that whole experience has left me a bit funny.'

Donna moved forward a snatched the syringe. 'Understatement of the century.'

'It's the only chance we have.' The Doctor told her. 'It's the only way we can disable it.'

'Then I suppose I'll just have to do it, won't I?' Donna snapped, sounding less confident than she had intended. 'I mean, can't be that hard. Just shout; oi, Buzz-boy! And then jab it in the eye.'

The Doctor frowned. 'Not the eye.'

'Well somewhere in the facial area.' Donna shrugged.

'The rear is the best place,' the Doctor informed her. 'Fleshiest part.'

'Yes, I'm going to jam a needle in a giant fly's backside.' Donna snarled. 'Push off.'

The Doctor took the syringe from her again. 'You're not jamming it anywhere, Donna. Sorry.'

'Well neither are you.' She turned around and pointed a finger at Oscar as he opened his mouth to speak. 'And you most certainly aren't either, matey. Not on my watch.'

Oscar frowned and then closed his mouth again.

'Well someone has to!' the Doctor cried. 'And as the only person in this room with nine hundred plus years of experience with this kind of thing, I nominate me.'

Bea nodded and raised her hand. 'I nominate the crazy man too.'

Oscar raised his hand also. 'Me too.'

Donna rolled her eyes. 'Oh you two would side with him. The big bloomin' clown.'

The Doctor sighed and took put his hands on her shoulders. She looked warily at the syringe in his hand. 'Donna.' He sighed. 'Donna, Donna, Donna. Don't worry about it.'

'Don't worry?' Donna cried. 'Well what am I supposed to do? The flippin' Samba?'

The Doctor beamed. 'Why not? Oscar looks like a good dancer.'

Donna narrowed her eyes at him. 'Doctor, you're not right. One wrong move…'

He squeezed her shoulders. 'I'll be back in a flash, I swear. You three keep to the back of the room while I open the door.'

'Oscar, look at that.' Bea said, pointing to one of the open cupboards.

Oscar just frowned and shook his head, more interested in the Doctor. Bea moved away from him and went to the cupboard.

'I'll knock three times to give the all clear, okay?' the Doctor went on. 'If I don't knock, which I will so I don't even need to say this, then get the kids to the TARDIS. It'll take you somewhere safe.'

Donna sagged. 'Doctor, it's just too dangerous.'

'Everything is dangerous, Donna. Even crossing the street is dangerous.'

'Oh don't give me that crap.'

'True though.'

Donna sighed. 'Well you better be bloody careful.' Her voice wasn't as harsh as she had wanted it to be.

The Doctor smiled and winked. 'I'll be back in a jiffy.'

'Wait!' Bea called, half in and half out of the cupboard. 'Just wait a minute!'

'Bea, get out of there.' Oscar frowned.

'No! Look!' Bea pulled out the transparent box and held it up to show the others. There was a small hazard sticker in the corner. 'You could use this!'

The Doctor grinned at the tranquilliser gun inside the box. 'You see that, Donna? That's why I love kids.'


	18. Pot Shot

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Pot Shot**

The Doctor had transferred the toxin from the syringe and into an empty tranquilliser dart. With the weapon now loaded, he checked the sight and the weight, and then spun it around his finger.

'Watch what you're doing you great big clot!' Donna cried with a scowl. 'You muck about with it like that and next thing you'll be on your back and snoring like a rhino!'

'You've got absolutely no faith in me at all, have you?' the Doctor frowned defensively.

'Not since you woke up I don't, no.' Donna replied, crossing her arms. 'You're going on daft.'

'Well at least I'm not wasting time by having a go at me,' he shrugged. 'Although that would be a bit peculiar, me shouting at myself. Done it before. Not recently. Although there was that time-'

'Doctor!' Donna yelled.

He flinched, and then smiled. 'Right. Sorry. Anyway, yes, the gun should make matters a whole lot easier. But it also means that we only have one shot. If we miss then that's it. We'll have to do a Christie.'

Bea cocked her head. 'Christie?'

'Linford Christie. Don't worry yourself about it, it's before your time. Quite a lot before your time.' The Doctor glanced around at everyone. 'Are we ready then? And by that I mean are you lot ready to hide while I go out there.'

'No.' Donna said. 'I'm coming with you.'

'If Donna's going then so am I.' Oscar added.

'And if Oscar's going so am I.' Bea joined in.

'Oh and it'll be like a wonderful family outing,' the Doctor sighed. 'Not likely. You three are staying right here.'

'I'm not letting you out of my sight.' Donna told him. 'I'm not going to be left on this stupid ship for the rest of my life. Which will probably be a very _short_ life the way things are looking.'

The Doctor lifted his arms in exasperation. 'Why do you all think I'm so incapable? I'll be right back! I've shot lots of guns!'

'You hate guns!' Donna cried.

'Well… yes… But it doesn't mean I've never used on! I had that water pistol, remember?'

Donna glared at him. 'I'm coming with you. The kids can stay in here where it's safe.'

'But I want to come with you!' Oscar insisted.

'What about Bea?' Donna shot at him. 'Do you just want to leave her in here on her own? What if something happens to us?'

'To me, you mean.' The Doctor corrected.

'I meant what I said.' Donna replied sharply.

'If something happens to you two then it means that the monster will still be awake.' Bea pointed out. 'And it'll just be me and Oscar. We'll probably die in this room anyway because there's no vents or food. We have a better chance staying with the two of you.'

A silence followed. The Doctor looked sadly at the young girl, while Oscar picked at his fingernail thoughtfully. Donna watched the Doctor, waiting for his reaction.

'She's right you know.' Donna said quietly, breaking the silence.

'That she is.' The Doctor agreed. 'You're a smart girl, Bea. How old did you say you were?'

'I didn't.' Bea replied.

The Doctor chuckled. 'Brilliant.'

'Are we going to get on with this then?' Donna asked. 'I'm sorry, but if I stand in this room a minute longer I think I might go barmy.'

'Oh going barmy isn't all that bad.' The Doctor shrugged, pocketing the gun and moving to the door. 'It's got its perks.' He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out his stethoscope. Without another glance to the others, who were watching him apprehensively, he used the stethoscope to listen to the thick door. After a moment, he stepped back.

'Well?' Donna pushed impatiently.

'Gone.' The Doctor shrugged.

'How do you know it's gone?' Oscar asked.

'Well I couldn't hear anything.' The Doctor replied.

'That could just mean it's waiting on the ceiling,' Donna pointed out. 'Watching for the door to open so it can pick off whoever sticks their head out first.'

The Doctor shook his head and put the stethoscope away. 'No, I would have heard it if it was there. It's constantly giving off a low buzz. You lot probably can't hear it, but I've got good ears you see. It sounds like a really _really_ quiet microwave.'

'It can't be far though.' Donna said. 'It'll be hanging around.'

The Doctor nodded, reaching in his pocket for the gun with one hand and readying the other on the lever that lifted the cross bar. 'Which is why we better move quickly. You could have done with those running shoes, Donna.'

Donna just frowned and turned to the children. 'You two stay right next to me, got that? I want both of your hands in mine at all times. No matter what happens. No wandering off, right?'

Oscar and Bea nodded, both looking quite pale. Donna nodded back and held her hands out. Tentatively, Oscar and Bea took them.

'It'll be okay,' she told them both. 'We're going to get you out of here.'

Oscar nodded. 'I believe you.'

'Me too.' Bea gave a small smile.

'Me three.' The Doctor added. 'Right then. Get ready.'

Donna, Oscar and Bea stood behind the Doctor, gripping each others hands tightly. The Doctor took a moment to regard them, feeling a strange warmth at the sight of Donna with the two children. She would make a good mother one day, even if she didn't believe it herself. All the more reason to get her out of here. The Doctor nodded once, and then hauled open the door.

The corridor seemed darker and the Doctor quickly noticed that some of the overhead lights had gone out, leaving dark shadowy patches. Big and dark enough to hide in. He held the gun out in front of him, eyes scanning every area.

'We're going for the TARDIS,' he whispered. 'If we manage to find it without even running into that thing then that'll be ten points in my book.'

'Which way?' Donna whispered back.

The Doctor glanced around. 'The generator room isn't far from here,' he told her. 'And we parked quite near. So I think…' He glanced to his left and up the eerie corridor. 'Not that way.' He nodded to the right. 'That way.'

'Are you sure?' Donna asked.

The Doctor looked at her, and then shrugged. 'Fifty-fifty.'

Donna rolled her eyes but didn't argue with him. She started up the corridor, still holding onto Oscar and Bea. The Doctor followed closely, trying to keep an eye on everything at once. Ahead a fluorescent light flickered like strobe lighting, causing Donna to slow down warily. Bea had burrowed beneath her arm and had her face buried into her waist. Oscar had taken more of a defensive stance, gripping with white knuckles onto Donna's hand. The Doctor stepped around them and squinted into the flashing light.

A vision flashed up before his eyes suddenly, taking him completely by surprise. It was himself, running through the flashing lights, shouting for Donna. But that had just been a dream. That couldn't be what was happening now. Unless this was just an extension of that dream. Not for the first time since 'waking up' he wondered if he was really actually awake. He glanced back to Donna and the children. The pair of them shared a marked resemblance to the children in his other dreams. And Donna… there was something just a bit off about her.

No there wasn't. She was the same old bossy Donna. It was _him_ who was a bit off. He gripped the gun tighter and clenched his teeth. This would be the last time. He would try to save the three of them, but if it turned out to be one big illusion he would give up. He couldn't go on like this. It was driving him insane.

A buzz drifted up the strobing corridor. Bea let out a squeak so Donna hugged her closer.

'At least it's letting us know it's here.' Donna breathed.

Oscar moved close to Donna, eyes staring straight ahead. Donna pulled the two of them back a little as the Doctor crept forward. The buzzing grew louder, and then quiet again – almost like the creature was running up and down the corridor instead of coming right at them. Finally though it began to get gradually louder, without fading away again. Behind the Doctor heard Donna telling the kids to stay close to her, but he didn't take his eyes from the corridor. Along with the buzzing he could hear footsteps now, quick and light.

'Here it comes…' he murmured, and raised the gun.

It appeared from the darkness, movements jerky and robotic in the flashing light. When it saw the Doctor its lips curled back, revealing those black sticky teeth. It buzzed angrily but made no attempt to lunge just yet. The reason for that being it had seen the gun. The Doctor wasn't sure if it knew what was inside, but it was smart enough to be wary of it.

'I'll give you a chance,' the Doctor told it solemnly. 'Just let us leave and I won't resort to using this.'

The creature only buzzed at him and flicked its wings in defiance. It took another step forward. The Doctor readied himself with the weapon.

'Whether you let us leave or not, I can guarantee you that we'll be leaving. So I suggest you…' He trailed off and stared as the creature's form shifted with the flickering of the lights. It was only brief, only for a split second, but it was enough to knock the Doctor off course.

He had seen himself, cut and bruised and pale and grinning.

'Doctor?' Donna called, voice high.

The Doctor looked around at her, eyes wide. 'Did you see that?' he asked. 'Did you see it?'

Donna looked frightened, her eyes were on the creature. 'What? See what?'

The children looked terrified. Oscar had resorted to hiding behind Donna, free hand holding tightly onto the back of Bea's jumper. The Doctor looked back around to the creature and gasped.

His double grinned back at him, still adopting the same stance as the creature would. Lips curled back, revealing his own white teeth. The buzzing rose out from between them. The Doctor faltered with the gun.

'No…' he mumbled. 'No it can't be. Please… this can't be another one! It _can't be_!'

'Doctor!' Donna cried. 'What's going on? Shoot it already!'

The Doctor looked around at her, eyes desperate. 'Can't you see it? Donna tell me you see it!'

Donna was near tears with fright. 'Shoot it!' she yelled. She opened her mouth to repeat the order, but her words refused to come out. Instead she dragged the children backwards.

The Doctor turned around just in time to see the creature lunging towards it, black saliva dribbling from its bottom lip. He raised the gun, but it was too little too late and as he was knocked sprawling to the floor, gun skittering away from him, he realised that he had been tricked.

And he had ruined their one and only chance.


	19. Sweet Dreams

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Sweet Dreams**

Donna shoved the kids ahead roughly, almost pushing Bea to the floor. The young girl managed to keep her balance when Oscar grabbed the back of her jumper and began practically carrying her along the corridor.

'Go!' Donna yelled at them. 'Just _run_!'

They complied without complaint. Oscar glanced briefly at Donna, the sorrow at their failed mission obvious, but there was no time to dwell on that right now. Donna whirled around to face the struggle going on behind her and instantly felt heaviness in her stomach. That heaviness was disappointment. And probably a dab of sheer terror also.

The Doctor had one hand on the creature's forehead and the other on its chin and was pushing it back with all his strength. The stinger had unfurled and was merely centimetres from his skin. Black goo dribbled out of the creature's gaping mouth and ran off the Doctor's cheek, matting his hair.

'Get out of here, Donna!' he yelled out of the corner of his mouth, eyes clenched shut to prevent the toxin getting in. 'Stay with the kids! Get them out of here!'

Donna hesitated, heart pounding in her chest. If she left him here now then she would probably never see him again. The thing would have him for sure this time. There would be no escape. She couldn't leave him to that fate. She _wouldn't_. If he was going down, she was going down with him. Not in a crazed suicidal way, but if there was something she could do then she would do it.

'_Oi!_' Her voice was surprisingly loud and echoed around the metal corridor. 'You get your stinkin' fruit fly paws off my Doctor, Goldblum!'

The creature looked up at her and buzzed loudly. It looked like it was remembering the bolt cutters incident, and apparently revenge for that overpowered its need to disable the Doctor. It scuttled over the Doctor, not caring that it crawled right over his head, and took a dive at Donna.

'I didn't mean put them on me!' Donna wailed, dodging under its swiping hands. 'Doctor! Your turn now!'

The Doctor scrambled onto his hands and knees and searched for the gun. He couldn't see it anywhere. He looked up to see the creature frantically trying to get Donna with the stinger, but she was dodging it like a lightweight. Donna was surprisingly agile when the situation called for it. She was yelling and shrieking for the Doctor to hurry up and do something while swinging her fists out wildly at the creature, which was doing a good job of dodging her itself. It wouldn't be long before it got lucky and that stinger got her.

Finally he spotted the gun lying off in the shadows. He grabbed it and spun around on his heels, still squatting close to the ground. He closed one eye, aimed, and fired.

The creature buzzed furiously and whirled around, baring its sticky black teeth. It glared at the Doctor, and then looked over its shoulder at its rear, where the tranquilliser dart poked out. It buzzed again even louder.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. 'There's something really degrading about having an injection in the bum. And I should know, believe me.'

The creature yanked the tranquilliser out and tossed it across the floor. It landed near the Doctor and he could see that it was empty. Looking back at the creature though, he could see it was still standing. And coming back for him. And looking very, _very_ angry.

'Oh… well…' the Doctor rose to his feet warily. 'How about we just call a truce?'

Just then the sound of war-like yelling sounded from up the corridor behind Donna. She whirled around in alarm, and then instantly dived out of the way with a yell. The Doctor peered around the creature, eyebrows shooting up, and then pinned himself against the wall. The creature turned just in time to see Oscar and Bea sprinting down the corridor, carrying a long, rectangular metal box between them, battering-ram style. The creature didn't have time to move, and the box slammed into the stomach of the creature, sending it soaring backwards into the flashing strobe lights. The children released the box and it followed the creature, landing on top of it.

'Yeah!' Bea cried, punching the air. She whirled around and gave her brother a high-five.

Before they had a chance to celebrate any longer, the Doctor grabbed both of them and began pulling them in the opposite direction. Donna ran ahead, poking at a cut on her wrist where the creature had caught her. Behind them, the creature's buzz was so furious it sounded like a jet plane taking off.

'Well done, kiddywinks,' the Doctor told the children breathlessly. 'Although we were managing perfectly fine without you.'

'Like hell.' Oscar replied breathlessly.

The Doctor grinned at him and kept running.

'Did you miss it?' Donna asked, running ahead at quite an impressive speed.

'Nope!' the Doctor replied. 'Told you I was a great shot, didn't I?'

'Well why hasn't it gone down?' Donna yelled. There was a clattering sound and another loud buzz as the creature overcome the shock and escaped the metal box. A scraping and thumping followed as it began to give chase.

'Maybe it had just had a massive cup of black coffee?' the Doctor suggested. 'We'll worry about it later. Just concentrate on running, right?'

Bea looked back over her shoulder and frowned when she saw the empty corridor. Then she looked up and saw it on the ceiling, gaining fast. 'It's here!' she screamed. '_It's right here_!'

The Doctor looked around to see that it was right above them. He instinctively pulled the two children inwards, under his arms and ducked. The creature launched at them, but soared right above them, crashing into Donna.

'Donna!' the Doctor yelled in alarm.

Donna screeched ear-piercingly as she and the creature rolled up the corridor, a tangle of legs and arms. The two of them struggled together, Donna's fists and legs flying every which way. They thumped into the wall of the corner and as they came to a stop it was obvious the creature had the upper hand. It stabbed its stinger at her face, but for now she was managing to dodge it.

The Doctor ran forward and grabbed the creature by its wings. He tugged it as hard as he could, aiming to pull it off Donna completely, but instead the resistance was no where near as hard as he had expected and just stumbled backwards, still clutching the wings. Which were no longer attached to the creature.

'Oh. Oops.' He mumbled.

The creature wailed out in pain and pushed itself off Donna, grabbing at its back where its wings had once been. If it hadn't been angry before, it was furious now. With all of them. It seemed to be struggling to decide who it wanted to have revenge on first. Seeing as the Doctor was the one holding its wings, he appeared to be the one highest on the hit list.

'I'm really sorry about that,' the Doctor told it. 'I didn't mean to pull them off.' He held them out as if they were a peace offering. 'Truce?'

The creature slashed the wings out of his hands with its claws and buzzed angrily.

'Okay, no truces.' The Doctor mumbled.

'Doctor!' Donna cried, still against the wall of the corner. 'The TARDIS!'

'Get inside!' the Doctor yelled at her, even though he couldn't see the TARDIS himself. He assumed she was yelling about it because it was there and not because she really wanted to get to it. That was the thing about Donna though, sometimes she just yelled for the hell of it.

'I'm not going without you and the kids!'

The creature stood blocking the way, swaying back and forth. It was obviously furious. Increasingly so. It wasn't going to let them past without a fight. The Doctor wasn't sure if he had it in him to give one. He had no choice though, they had to get the kids out. Whatever the cost.

He ran forward, head down like a rugby player, and seized the creature around the waist. Instantly after he felt sharp claws sink into his back. They only remained in his skin for a moment though, as the creature slammed against the back wall. Behind him he could hear Donna calling for the kids. A moment later and he heard the familiar and soothing creak of the TARDIS doors. The sound also sparked a sad feeling in him, because he was starting to think that this was perhaps the last time he would hear it.

The creature recovered quickly from the slam against the wall. The Doctor felt its hands on his head and it pulled him up so it was staring right in his face. He took in a deep breath, knowing that this was the end of it. He couldn't fight it anymore. Donna was yelling for him, but he just closed his eyes. The TARDIS would take her home. The kids would have to go back to Earth with her. He knew Donna, she would look after them. Wouldn't appreciate having to explain to her mum where they came from but… well, it was better for her that way. Better than dying on this Transport ship…

Nothing was happening, which was actually getting on the Doctor's nerves a little. He didn't appreciate having to wait, even when it was his own death. Over nice and quick, that's what he always liked. He opened his eyes, and then frowned in bewilderment.

The creature was swaying. It's vertical eyelids were blinking groggily, and it was having difficulty holding up its head. The Doctor felt himself grinning as the creature's hands slipped from his head.

'Ah, there we are,' he said in a soft voice. 'You just have yourself a nice little nap. You look like you need it after all that running around.'

The creature tried to fight it, but its buzzing was growing softer and irregular. It swayed like a drunk, trying to find support on the walls. The Doctor backed away and watched. Donna also watched, and the kids were watching from around the door of the TARDIS. After another few seconds of swaying, the creature toppled over. It curled up on its side into the foetal position and its stinger curled back in. A moment later and it was completely still.

'Hushaby.' The Doctor grinned. 'I feel like singing it a lullaby.'

Donna grabbed his hand and glared at him. 'We're leaving.' She told him. 'Right _now_.'

The Doctor only grinned at her and allowed her to drag him to the TARDIS.


	20. In The Mind

**Chapter Nineteen**

**In The Mind**

Donna had been quite upset to see Oscar and Bea go, even if she wouldn't admit it herself. The Doctor knew when she was upset because she puffed up a little and got snappier than usual. This was no exception. You wouldn't see any tears from Donna; she would just shove you and insult you until she felt a little better. Even then she would still keep with the insults.

They had taken the kids back to their home planet. Their grandparents, to be exact. The Doctor and Donna hadn't gone with them, but they had watched the reunion from across the street. Donna hadn't watched for very long. She had stormed back inside the TARDIS stropping and sulking about the state of her clothes. The Doctor watched for a little longer though. Bea turned and waved before disappearing inside the house. The grin on her face told him that she would manage to carry on as normal, which was a comfort.

'You know what I need right now?' the Doctor sighed as he moved to the console.

'An MRI scan?' Donna asked, flapping her jacket and kicking up a cloud of dust.

'Oh no,' the Doctor wrinkled his nose. 'Make my eyebrows itchy those things. No. What I need is a swim.'

Donna cocked an eyebrow at him. 'A swim? You've got to be kidding me.'

'Nothing better for you after some strenuous exercise than a good swim.' He began to turn the dials on the TARDIS, setting co-ordinates. 'Relaxes your muscles, all that kind of stuff.'

'You were bloody lying down half the time,' Donna snapped. 'I did more bloomin' exercise than you and I say it's better to sit down with a cup of tea and your feet up. I'm not going flippin' swimming.'

'Well there's a nice teashop.' The Doctor told her as the TARDIS began to hum. 'Loads of tea. Nice little sofas as well. You can have your tea, and I can have a swim! Everyone's happy.'

Donna snorted. 'I think you're daft.' She told him.

'There's shoe shops there too.'

She glanced up, interested. 'Really?'

'Yup.'

Donna contemplated this new piece of information for a moment, and then nodded once. 'Well what are you waiting for? Hurry up, will you?' She headed away towards the doors leading into the TARDIS and waved a hand. 'I'm off to have a shower and get my shopping gear on. Try not to fly so bloomin' recklessly this time. Last time I was in the shower you bumped us so hard I went sliding across the floor like a bloomin' slippery fish.'

She disappeared, still moaning about something or other. The Doctor looked up at the TARDIS, smile on his face. He hadn't thought he would see the interior again. It was good to be back. Back to normal. Well, whatever was classed as normal in this place anyway.

Something buzzed in his left ear. The Doctor winced, and rubbed it until it disappeared. He frowned vaguely. The buzzing came back, low and quiet. Somewhere at the back of his mind. He clenched his eyes tightly shut and gritted his teeth. Eventually, it went away.

The Doctor opened his eyes again and looked down at his hands.

'Hi daddy.'

He looked around, unsurprised. The little blonde girl was smiling at him, fiddling with the sleeve of her dress. He smiled back, wanly. He blinked, and she was gone. He stared at the empty spot for a moment, and then turned back to the console. The buzzing sounded again in his ears but he ignored it and snapped back a lever. He suddenly found himself believing in a saying that he had spent a long time despising.

Ignorance is bliss.

**THE END**

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A/N: I'm really shocked at the amount of people who were reading this story lol, I wasn't expecting it at all. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and enjoyed it, it really is brilliant when I know people have enjoyed something I've written. I hope the ending hasn't baffled anyone too completely, but I don't want to ruin it by explaining my version of what it means. I'll leave that up to you lol. So again, huge HUGE thanks for all your lovely reviews! You're all wicked, and I'm dancing for you - you just can't see it. It's a little Tom Jones shuffle.

I'm going to do another Doctor/Donna story in the next week or something called 'A Doll's Life' (I don't know what it is with me and dog puns recently...) so keep an eye out for that. It's not going to be as doom and gloomy as this one was, but it's along similar lines. Anyway, watch out for it. And again, thanks a million! xx


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